Schism
by jazzpha
Summary: AU. After Ichigo Kurosaki suffers a Hollow attack with an unexpected consequence, he finds himself exiled to Hueco Mundo with no allies and an uncertain future. Meanwhile, Yamamoto orders a team of Shinigami to apprehend him, and there are enemies to be found in the Seireitei's shadows. IchiRuki.
1. Portents

**Schism**

**Chapter 1: Portents  
**

* * *

Ichigo Kurosaki stared down at the pile of paperwork on the desk in front of him, dismayed at how blank all of it was. He'd been toiling at it for what felt like hours, but the stack just never seemed to shrink.

He tried to refocus himself on the task at hand, but Ichigo's mind kept wandering back to the fact that his mother had finally drawn the short straw for frontline medical work out in the field. No matter how many times she'd told Ichigo that she could handle herself, it still didn't change the fact that every fatality suffered by the Fourth Division for the past century had occurred on the frontlines of an expedition.

Sighing, he blinked and looked back down at the top form on the stack.

His brush had dripped ink on the paper, covering whole sections of the form with black splotches.

"Shit!"

"Lieutenant Kurosaki," a calm, controlled voice called out from the doorway, "would you like me to take care of those?"

"No thanks, Toshiro," Ichigo called over, not looking up as he tried to start on a new sheet. "You deserve a break more than anyone in this Division."

An errant brushstroke brought another few curses screaming out of Ichigo, and Toshiro Hitsugaya sighed.

"Please, Lieutenant," he said, walking the rest of the way up to the desk, "I insist. You might want to get some air."

Ichigo thought about protesting, but in the end even he had to admit that his concentration was completely shot.

"Thanks," he said as he rose, making his way slowly towards the door. "When Rangiku gets here, could you tell her I left those persimmons she asked for in the cupboard? Second shelf down."

"Of course."

Ichigo left without another word, feeling as guilty as he always did when this happened. He didn't know if Toshiro had a compulsion to fill out forms, the rest of the Tenth Division's top brass was just lazy, or both, but that kid seemed to do about ninety percent of all of their paperwork.

But what unnerved Ichigo even more than that was Toshiro's absolutely perfect track record. Not a single error, on any form, ever.

"I bet he's some sort of machine-Shinigami Captain Urahara invented," Ichigo mumbled, his thoughts in three places at once while the afternoon sun shined down on him.

"Toshiro pickin' up all your paperwork again, Ichigo?"

The unexpected question yanked the Lieutenant out of his thoughts, and he looked over to see the face of the Fifth Division Captain, Shinji Hirako, smiling back at him. Ichigo did his best to look properly embarrassed at being found out, but he was too worried to care about putting on appearances. And it must have showed, because the smile quickly faded from Shinji's face.

"What's eating ya?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit," Shinji was quick to reply, cutting off Ichigo's forward stride with an arm raised in front of the Lieutenant's chest. "Tell me."

Ichigo relented with a sigh.

"My mom drew frontline duty today."

Shinji said nothing for a moment, his eyes questioning.

"That's it?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said, surprised and taken aback by how dismissive the Captain sounded. "That's a big deal, Shinji."

"For a Fourth Seat, maybe," Shinji allowed, "but your mamma ain't no Fourth Seat. She'll be fine."

"People keep saying that like it'll actually make a difference," Ichigo said glumly, completely missing a round of greetings that some Tenth Division troops sent his way. They left looking disappointed, and Ichigo kept on walking.

"What're you doing over here, Shinji?" he asked after a few more moments, sounding like himself again. "Any message you need to give to my dad?"

"Nah," Shinji answered, looking up appreciatively at a tall oak tree, its leaves glinting red and gold in the sun. "Just felt like a change of scene."

Ichigo was almost certain the Captain wasn't telling him the whole truth, but he knew better than to try and pry something out of Shinji when he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Where's Lieutenant Aizen?" Ichigo asked, deftly changing the subject. Shinji shrugged.

"Off showing his _shikai_ to the new grads. It's that time a' year again."

"Why do you think he keeps bothering? His _shikai_ isn't even that impressive."

Shinji snorted.

"Why do you think? He loves the attention."

"Really? I didn't think he was that kind of guy."

"That's 'cause you don't know Sousuke like I do, Ichigo," Shinji said, looking the Lieutenant in the eyes. "And if yer smart, you'll keep it that way."

Ichigo was caught off-guard by the seriousness in Shinji's voice, and knew he should probably try to change the subject again.

Before he could say anything else, though, a startled chorus of voices nearby broke the awkward silence.

"Captain Shiba! Welcome back, sir!"

"At ease, boys," Ichigo heard his father say, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"There he is. Hopefully Toshiro left some paperwork for him to do, but I doubt it."

Isshin came walking into view a few moments later, his pace hurried and expression intense.

"Hey, Ichigo," he said shortly, before turning to Shinji. "I saw one. Out in Hueco Mundo, with my own eyes," the Captain of the Tenth Division told his friend. "She had the same kind of _reiatsu_ as the mask fragments Kisuke keeps around in his lab. That can't be a coincidence. They're real."

The two Captains lapsed into silence, Isshin looking as troubled as Shinji did contemplative. Ichigo quickly got the sense that he wasn't supposed to be there, and turned to leave without saying goodbye. He made his way back inside the halls of Tenth Division, not feeling much better than he had when he'd left.

"Ichigo? Hey, Ichigo!"

"What's up, Rangiku?"

"A butterfly came for you," the Tenth's Third Seat, Rangiku Matsumoto, told her Lieutenant. "Looks like Captain Kuchiki's working late tonight, so Hisana's having a get-together at her place." Rangiku paused, her eyes slowly taking on a gleam that Ichigo was all too familiar with.

"Say, Ichigo," she said sweetly, "are you _sure_—"

"Yes, I'm sure I can't bring you with me," Ichigo interrupted her, "and I can't smuggle back any of the Kuchiki House _sake_, either."

"You're as mean as your father," Rangiku pouted, but Ichigo just laughed.

"No," he said, "I'm not." His smile widened. "I just don't want Lieutenant Ichimaru getting the wrong idea."

Rangiku instantly turned scarlet, and Ichigo left in a hurry before she could say anything else.

* * *

"Look," Kukaku Shiba said after she'd finished off a swig of _sake_, "all I'm saying is this— we need to get you a girlfriend, bro. Our clan's gonna die off at this rate."

"That ain't something you can rush, and you know it," Kaien Shiba replied, while Rukia Kuchiki tried and failed to completely hold in a snicker. "Don't think I didn't hear that, Kuchiki. Extra paperwork for you tomorrow."

"Still worth it," Rukia said, drawing a laugh from her older sister, who sat near the head of the table across from Kukaku.

"She has a point, Kaien-dono," Hisana said. "And you can't even blame Ichigo for doing the same thing, since he gave you his place in the succession… but still, I'm not sure how long he'll be alone for," she finished, flashing Ichigo a sidelong, mischievous smirk that reminded him uncomfortably of Rukia. He fought not to blush, failing miserably. Kaien was quick to come to his cousin's rescue, laughing and waving his hand dismissively.

"You can drop the 'dono', Hisana-chan," the Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division said. "I'm not the clan head yet, and hopefully I won't be for a long time."

"I'll drink to that," Renji Abarai broke in, raising his cup in a toast. "To Isshin Shiba!"

"You'll drink to anything, Renji," Kaien said from across the table, taking a measured sip of his own sake.

"Like you're any better," Kukaku said, finishing her cup with a gulp that almost made Hisana wince. "How you can even keep a girlfriend for more than a week, I have no idea."

"Must be that natural Shiba charm," Kaien said, the theatricality in his voice thick enough to make Rukia laugh so hard she spat half a mouthful of sake across the table, all over Ichigo.

"Maybe you're on to something," Hisana said with a smile, as Ichigo looked in vain for something to wipe himself off with. "He does look a lot more charming now."

Kukaku howled with laughter, and Ichigo just wanted to sink underneath the table. Unfortunately, that method of escape was impossible. Sighing, he quickly finished the rest of his dinner and excused himself. As he walked toward the washroom Ichigo could vaguely hear the others begin to leave the table as well, signaling the end of the meal. He tried not to feel anxious as he splashed water on his face, but couldn't ignore his instincts.

Ichigo walked out into the hallway and found Rukia leaning against the wall opposite him, looking apologetic.

"Sorry," she said, pushing herself forward and walking towards Ichigo. "Did it all come off?"

"Yeah," he answered as he took a step of his own, stopping close enough to her for a whisper to be heard clearly. "I forgive you."

"Lucky me," Rukia said with a smile. She leaned forward and kissed him, and Ichigo leaned into it gratefully. He was glad to have something to take his mind away from his worries, if only for a moment.

But Rukia suddenly stepped back just a few moments later, when she noticed how tense Ichigo was.

"What's wrong?"

Ichigo hesitated for a moment, his eyes a mess of conflicted emotions.

"I'm worried about my mom," he said, and Rukia's concern was instantly plain on her face.

"I need to go make sure she's gotten back safe," Ichigo finished.

Rukia nodded.

"I understand." She hugged him. "Be careful, if you go out looking for her."

"I will."

Rukia smiled into his shoulder, his warmth as comforting as ever.

"Love you."

"Love you, too," Ichigo said, and then he was gone.

On his way out, Ichigo passed by Hisana, who was watching Kukaku and Renji talking on a nearby couch with a smile on her face.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she replied. "I'm just wondering how long it'll take him to screw up his guts and just tell her."

Ichigo shook his head.

"Any other woman, I'd agree. But you don't know Kukaku like we do, Hisana."

She shrugged, turning her attention to Ichigo.

"And you," she said to him, "you're no better. You going to make her wait forever?"

Now it was Ichigo's turn to smile, and he flashed a smirk that rivaled Hisana's best.

"What makes you think she's still waiting?" he said quietly, before turning around and walking away without another word.

Behind him, Hisana's look of stunned understanding slowly turned into a grin, and she shook her head.

"Kids," she muttered. "Good thing Byakuya doesn't know yet, or he'd go nuts."

Outside, Ichigo closed his _shihakusho_ against a sudden gust of wind. He was about to go hurrying off into the night when he heard Rukia call out from behind him.

"Ichigo!"

He turned to see her heading swiftly towards the door of the Kuchiki household, crossing the threshold to stand next to him outside.

"Do you want some company?" Rukia asked, pulling a thicker robe the rest of the way on to protect against the cold. Ichigo smiled.

"Sure. Let's go."

They made their way in the direction of the Fourth Division, moving at an easy jog in order to travel quickly over the uneven ground, and more safely than using _shunpo_.

"She definitely should have sent a butterfly by now," Ichigo said as they moved along, Rukia easily keeping pace next to him. "Something's not right."

"I'm sure Captain Unohana would've let us know if something had happened to her," Rukia said reassuringly. "She's probably just getting formally relieved over at the Fourth Division."

They traveled the rest of the way in silence, glad to see that the lights of the Fourth Division's headquarters were still lit when they arrived.

Ichigo all but ran down hallway after hallway looking for someone on duty, Rukia hurrying along behind him. Ichigo could feel his anxiety rising with each passing minute that no one appeared, fearing the worst.

"Can I help you, Ichigo? Rukia?"

The immaculately calm voice of Captain Unohana stopped the Lieutenant and the Third Seat dead in their tracks, and they turned to face her.

"Is my mom back yet?" Ichigo asked, his heart sinking when Unohana shook her head.

"There were many more wounded than we expected," the Captain explained. "Lieutenant Kurosaki insisted on going back out into the field to keep treating as many as she could."

Ichigo and Rukia gave polite nods of thanks in parting and walked away, waiting until they were around the corner to break into a run. The halls of the Fourth Division rushed by them, and soon enough they were back outside again.

Ichigo stopped for a moment, focusing just long enough to locate his father's _reiatsu_ near the Twelfth Division's building.

"Come on," he said. "We're going over to the Twelfth Division."

Using _shunpo_ to speed through the streets and just barely avoiding a few crashes with drunken pedestrians, Ichigo and Rukia skidded to a halt not far from Isshin, who was in the middle of a conversation with his fellow Captains, Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin.

"… and do you think the reverse might be possible, Kisuke?"

"I've come across some theories that suggest it might be, but I have no idea how it'd be done. Not to mention, it'd be incredibly dangerous…" His eyes caught sight of the new arrival, and Kisuke stopped mid-thought. "Ichigo-kun? Rukia-chan? What're you doing all the way out here?"

"Sorry for interrupting, Urahara-san," Ichigo apologized, before looking over at his father. "Captain Unohana said mom had gone back out to heal some more people," he said. "Have you seen her at all?"

"Yeah, a little while ago," Isshin answered. "She was tired, but all she told me was that she had more work to do. Then she went back into the forest. You worried?"

"Yeah," Ichigo admitted, not bothering to hide his unease in front of them. "I'm gonna go check it out."

"Ichigo," his father called out to him, stopping his son as he was about to leave, "If your mother can handle being married to someone like me, she can handle a couple of Hollow. If you're ever gonna take my place someday, you have to learn to have some faith in what other people can do."

Ichigo only hesitated for a moment before he vanished anyway, and Rukia was quick to follow him. Yoruichi looked over at Isshin, ready to move.

"Want me go with them?"

Isshin shook his head.

"They can handle themselves. Besides," the Captain continued, shifting his gaze as he picked up on Kaien's _reiatsu_ signature nearby, following in the wake of Ichigo and Rukia's, "it looks like they already have some backup."

* * *

…

…

**A/N: **And there's Chapter 1! Hope you enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Big shout-out as always to **JasoTheArtisan**, beta extraordinaire. Without him, this chapter would have not been nearly what it turned out to be.

Catch you next time, and thanks for reading!

**- Jazz**


	2. Break

**Schism**

**Chapter 2: Break  
**

* * *

The forests on the outskirts of the Rukongai were quiet at this time of night, a quiet that was only broken by the whispering of Ichigo and Rukia's _shunpo_—and the occasional snap of them crunching a fallen branch underfoot.

Ichigo'd had trouble tracking down his mother's _reiatsu_, which was odd enough to heighten his unease even more. And now that he'd found it, Ichigo could tell it was dangerously faint, almost flickering on the edge of his senses.

He sped up, trusting Rukia to keep the pace as best she could. Any thick roots that might have tripped Ichigo up were simply cut apart by the sheer force of his _reiryoku_. His vision tunneled, the world blurring at the corner of his eyes as he raced forward, drawing closer and closer to his mother's _reiatsu_—

Until suddenly a slightly different _reiatsu_ spiked up so high that it stopped Ichigo in his tracks.

"Rukia," he called out as he drew Zangetsu, "stay back! There's something here!"

Ichigo had barely finished talking when a figure came dashing down the path towards him, half-running and half-limping with a posture that gave the impression of suffering extreme agony. It looked like a Shinigami, but their face was obscured by a viscous covering of white sludge, leaving only black and yellow eyes visible.

A Hollow's mask. Every instinct in Ichigo screamed danger, and called a _Getsuga Tensho_ to the edge of his blade.

"What are you?" he shouted, the erratic _reiatsu_ the creature was giving off making him more and more afraid as it scrambled towards him.

"Stop!" Ichigo shouted again as the creature sped up, but it was too intent on attacking to listen to any words. It leapt towards Ichigo and he attacked, cutting through it with Zangetsu.

The creature's body hung in the air for a moment, its momentum keeping it there before it fell. The creature's eyes widened, and Ichigo thought he heard it speak.

"_Ichi…go."_

It fell to the ground, limp, a pool of blood spreading out onto the dirt from where Zangetsu had cut. But the body did not vanish, as Hollows always did.

Instead, the mask that had been covering the creature's face shivered, cracked, broke open, and dropped away. Its face was visible now in the moonlight, and what Ichigo saw froze his blood.

It was his mother's face.

Ichigo was paralyzed again, this time by a wave of emotions that crushed him completely. Words failed him, and his horror burst out of him in an agonized scream.

"Mom!"

He was on his knees beside her body, his hands on her shoulders as he stared into her eye. The rest of his words were half-drowned in grief, and it wasn't long before the only thing Ichigo had the strength left to do was to hold his mother's body against his own, weeping.

"I thought she was gonna be powerful enough to kill you, for sure," a sharp, cold voice spoke out, jolting Ichigo halfway out of his shock. "What kind of Shinigami are you, kid?" the speaker continued, before chuckling. "Besides one that just killed his own mother, that is."

Ichigo stared up at the speaker, a Hollow who was no bigger than a normal human or Shinigami. He tried to speak, but words failed him.

"I'll answer those questions for you," the Hollow said, "since I'm feeling generous. Yes, I was the one who slaughtered all of those dead Shinigami you seemed to have missed on your way here. Yes, that woman was stupid enough to think she could kill me. Yes, I turned her into a Hollow. Or most of one, anyway.

"And yes," the Hollow finished, its eyes gleaming with malice, "I'm going to do it to you, too."

Ichigo barely had time to begin rising to his feet before the Hollow vanished. A heartbeat later, his world exploded in a storm of pain and anger, and everything went black.

Kaien and Rukia watched in silence as the Hollow opened a _garganta_ and slipped through it, petrified with terror and shock. The wound that had been cut diagonally across Ichigo's chest suddenly pulsed and began spewing white sludge, which rapidly spread over his body.

"No," Rukia gasped, quickly understanding what was happening, however impossible she might have thought it to be. "Ichigo!"

She ran out into the open, quickly drawing the attention of the creature that used to be Ichigo Kurosaki.

Kaien darted out after Rukia, hoping he was fast enough to stop what he knew was about to happen.

"_Bakudo number 81: Danku!"_

The wall sprung into being and the newborn Hollow slammed into it, just a few feet away from where Rukia was standing, wide-eyed and slightly trembling. It shattered instantly, the bypassed spell not strong enough to withstand the Hollow's force.

"Ichigo?"

"He's turned into a Hollow, Rukia!" Kaien shouted, moving in to fight his opponent with his zanpakuto. "Get out of here and go find Isshin!"

"But—"

"Go!" the Lieutenant urged, sparing his subordinate a quick, desperate glance. "I won't be able to hold it off for long! Hurry! That's an order, damn it!"

Rukia wasted no more time, barely hearing Kaien release his _shikai _as she ran before leaving her commander behind entirely in a burst of _shunpo_. She moved as fast as she could, forcing her body to ignore the burning pain in her legs as she hurried back towards Captain Shiba's _reiatsu_, which was still where she and Ichigo had left it. Rukia used the last of her strength to flash to the front of the Twelfth Division. She collapsed to her knees, gasping.

"Rukia?" she vaguely heard Isshin ask her, sounding worried. "What is it?"

She raised her head and stared at the Captain, struggling to speak.

"Ichigo…" she said at last. "Hollow."

With that, she fainted, collapsing hard onto the stones. Urahara was at her side in an instant, checking her vitals.

"Take care of her," Isshin said, his voice steeled. "Yoruichi."

The two Captains vanished, leaving Urahara alone. He closed his eyes and focused, trying to find Ichigo's _reiatsu_. What he felt instead sent a chill cutting straight through him.

"Oh, no."

* * *

Ichigo opened his eyes slowly, greeted by the cold steel buildings and harsh, perpetual sunlight of his spirit world. Strange—hadn't he just been in the forest?

"_Wake up, dumbshit. I don't have time to be messing around here."_

The voice drew Ichigo the rest of the way to awareness, and his vision cleared enough for him to perceive a figure standing across the chasm, on another sideways building. It looked almost exactly like himself, except it was entirely white.

"_Brain still scrambled, huh?"_ The strange figure asked, its voice sounding incredibly close even as it seemed to stand hundreds of feet away. _"Let's fix that."_

In a blink, the figure was standing right in front of Ichigo, and the Shinigami realized why it had felt like trying to look at it was like looking into a mirror: the young man in front of him could have been his identical twin, if not for his completely chalk-white skin and discolored, black and yellow eyes.

It was a Hollow.

Ichigo's memories came back to him all at once, and he staggered backwards with a groan.

"_That looks more like it,"_ the Hollow said. _"Let me know when you're ready to fight, so I can take this place from you fair and square."_

Ichigo forced himself back upright, taking a calming breath before fixing the Hollow with a stare.

"What exactly are you going to 'take' from me?"

"_Isn't it obvious?"_ the Hollow asked, sweeping his arms out around him. _"All of this. Everything you are. I'm going to kick your ass and take over. That's how this works. You're weak, I'm strong. Simple."_

Ichigo said nothing for a few moments, wrestling with the emotions that were churning in his gut. Hatred, guilt, grief and self-loathing grew and receded, one after the other, mingling and amplifying, until all that remained was pure, cold rage.

"_Bankai,_" the Shinigami said, and the Hollow's eyes widened with surprise.

The explosion of _reiatsu_ that followed the release was large enough to completely demolish the building Ichigo was standing on, leaving both the Shinigami and the Hollow standing on the air as rubble and steel fell away beneath them.

"_Cutting to the chase, huh?" _the Hollow said, smirking. _"I like it. _Ban—!"

He never finished the word. Ichigo appeared behind him, the tip of his black zanpakuto dripping with blood.

"_How…"_ the Hollow gasped as pain flooded him, totally unprepared for Ichigo's speed.

"You thought you were going to take this place from me?" Ichigo said as he turned around, his eyes burning with fury even as his voice remained perfectly even. "My body? My soul? Don't screw with me." He held his zanpakuto out in front of his body, ready to attack again. "Give up now, before I actually start trying."

"_Don't patronize me, you little shit,"_ the Hollow hissed, its body already almost done regenerating its wound. _"_Bankai!"

Ichigo stood motionless as the Hollow's _reiatsu_ exploded around him, his own _reiatsu_ creating a protective barrier.

As the smoke began to clear around the Hollow, Ichigo raised his hand and spoke.

"_Bakudo number 79: Kuyo Shibari."_

When the Hollow came back into view a moment later, it was immobilized by the nine black spots of _kido_ that made up the powerful _bakudo_. It snarled, staring at Ichigo with rage in its discolored eyes.

"_You coward!"_ it screamed. _"Fight me!"_

"What's wrong?" Ichigo taunted, raising his other hand and concentrating. "You should be able to break out of that, with your _bankai's_ power. I thought I was supposed to be the weak one, Hollow. _Hado number 4: Byakurai."_

A burning, precise bolt of white lightning blasted out of Ichigo's fingertip and pierced clean through the Hollow's left eye, leaving the creature to scream again, this time in pain. It bucked strongly, causing the _bakudo_ around it to budge.

"Not bad," Ichigo commented, his voice still icy. "But not good enough. _Hado number 1: Sho."_

The concussive push forced the Hollow off of its feet and into the air, and Ichigo was quick to appear behind it in a bust of _shunpo_.

"_Getsuga Tensho."_

The blast of energy was several times more powerful than it had been in Zangetsu's _shikai_ state, the bright blue explosion briefly eclipsing the light of the sun that floated in the imaginary sky. The Hollow was sent flying back downwards, where it slammed through several buildings before Ichigo felt it come to a stop.

He focused on where he could feel its _reiatsu _emanating from, and took aim.

"_Hado number 54: Haien."_

The purple flame roared out of Ichigo's hand in a torrent, engulfing the buildings below in a wildfire. Ichigo could hear the Hollow screaming again, but his anger was too deep to allow for pity. The creature appeared in front of him again a few moments later, bloodied and burned and scarred.

"Give up," Ichigo repeated, "and I'll stop."

"_Screw you."_

The Shinigami grit his teeth, facing down his Hollow and unleashing a powerful concentrated burst of his _reiatsu_. The spirit world shook and groaned around him, but Ichigo paid it no mind.

He had to finish this, once and for all.

He called a _Getsuga_ into his sword, leapt forward, and brought it down with all of his might.

When the pillar of smoke cleared from the explosion, the Hollow was in two halves on the ground, split across the waist. It heaved strangled gasps as it struggled to heal.

"I want you to understand something," the Shinigami said with perfect calm. "In here, I have all the power in the world. You, whatever you are… you're nothing. Whatever power you think you have, it's mine now. It was mine from the second you came in here. Nod if you understand that."

The Hollow nodded, its will to fight finally broken.

"Good. If you ever try to take this place over again, I'm going to come in here and defeat you. Completely and totally, without holding back like I was just now. Remember that."

The Hollow sneered at him, desperate to recover some semblance of its shattered pride.

"_You'd never kill me,"_ it said, _"and that's what makes you weak. Your threats don't mean anything, Ichigo."_

The Shinigami looked at the Hollow, and it was the Hollow who had to fight back a shiver.

"You don't think I'd kill you?" Ichigo asked, his voice heavy with anger and guilt. "I just killed my own mother. Someone I loved more than almost anyone else I know. Who the hell are you, next to her?"

Ichigo turned around and began to walk away, before stopping and raising his hand back over this shoulder.

"_Bakudo number 73: Tozansho."_

As soon as the Hollow's scream of rage had died away, muted by the wall of the blue pyramid which now contained it, Ichigo sighed and let himself relax. As he felt his spirit floating away from the confines of his spirit world, he also released his hold on the massive tide of power that waited pooled within him.

Hopefully, he wouldn't need to use it again like that for a long time.

When Ichigo opened his eyes again, he was back in the dark forest, with the moon shining down over him. He was vaguely aware of a sound like the shattering of plaster, as pieces of something hard and cocoon-like sloughed off of his body. For some reason, there was water everywhere, and the ground had been turned almost entirely into mud.

Another sound was clearer still, like the shattering of glass. A translucent barrier of energy cracked and shattered in front of Ichigo, revealing a very exhausted and heavily bloodied Kaien Shiba.

He seemed worried at first, but then his expression shifted slowly to cautious relief.

"Ichigo?" he asked, hesitant. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," Ichigo answered. "Are you all right? Who did that to you?"

He never heard his cousin's reply. Exhaustion from the night's events slammed into him all at once, and the Shinigami slumped to the ground. The last thing he saw as he slipped into unconsciousness was Kaien's face leaning over him, his eyes alarmed.

He was telling him something, but Ichigo couldn't hear the words.

_Darkness. Peace._

"_Explain yourself more clearly, Lieutenant Shiba. Lieutenant Ichigo Kurosaki did what, exactly?"_

_Silence. Tension. Pain. First blunt, dull. Then sharp, biting. Burning. It hurt._

_Where was his mother? It hurt so much._

_Dead. She was dead. Gone. His fault._

_All his fault._

"_What do you mean, he won't die?"_

"_I mean his Hollow keeps regenerating his wounds instinctively. This won't work. If we keep it up, he might wake up. And if he does that, we'll all die."_

"_The judgment of the Central 46 must be carried out, Captain Urahara. Move aside."_

"_Stop! Are you insane?"_

_Pain. Again. Sharp. Make it stop. Make it stop._

"_He's waking up, you idiot!"_

"_Then sedate him! You're the scientist, aren't you?"_

_Cold. Quiet. Floating. Pain's gone. _

_Darkness. Peace._

* * *

Kaien was positive he'd never seen his protégé look more calmly murderous than she did right now.

"What do you mean, I can't see him?"

The guard stiffened up, clearly aware of the fact that if Rukia hadn't been accompanied by multiple Captains and a couple of Lieutenants, he'd be halfway to dead already.

"I mean your impartiality in this matter is… compromised," the guard said. "The Captain Commander believes you can't be trusted to act objectively."

"And I can?" Isshin asked, arching an eyebrow. "Explain that one to me, please."

The guard sighed, his fear replaced with annoyance.

"Because you're a Captain," he said. "She isn't."

Rukia's fists clenched at her sides. She held them there for a few seconds before slowly unclenching them and exhaling, her body slumping slightly forward.

"Fine," she said dully, turning around. "I get it." She turned to look at Isshin. "I need to leave before I strangle him. Tell Ichigo…" she let the thought trail off, thinking of what to say. In the end, she could only hang her head. "Tell him I'm sorry."

Isshin nodded, barely able to contain his anger. Anger he saw clearly reflected in the eyes of his nephew and niece, who looked about ready to challenge the Captain Commander to a duel.

"I will."

Rukia began walking away without another word, determined to be out of everyone's sight before she let her emotions out.

"Easy, Rukia-chan," a smooth, even voice called from down the hallway, stopping her departure. "I'm sure we can sort this mess out, don't you worry."

The speaker was illuminated by the torches on the hallway walls soon enough: Captain Shunsui Kyoraku, accompanied by his Lieutenant, Lisa Yadomaru.

"Captains," he greeted, looking around at Yoruichi, Urahara, Isshin and Byakuya. "Lieutenants," he continued, looking at Renji and Kaien. "Lady Hisana, Kukaku," he finished, bowing to them. "I wish we were meeting under different circumstances."

Shunsui looked at the guard, his brown eyes hard with authority that rarely resided there.

"You're relieved."

The guard blinked, surprised by the statement that carried all the force of an order.

"Sir?"

"I said, you're relieved. Get out."

"But, the Captain Commander—!"

"If Yama-ji has a problem, I'll deal with it. Go."

The guard could find nothing more to say, mustering the last shred of his dignity and marching down the hallway. He hadn't gone more than a few steps before Lisa appeared in front of him, her palm raised up toward his face.

"_Hakufuku."_

The guard collapsed following the flash of bright light, and Lisa got to work chanting another, more complex spell under her breath.

"See?" Shunsui said as soon as the guard was unconscious, his voice bright again. "Much better. He won't remember the last day, once Lisa-chan gets through with him. After you, Rukia-chan."

He stepped aside to make room for Rukia, who opened the cell door with shaking hands and had to ignite a small orb of blue flame in her hands to see through the darkness. The rest of the visitors followed in behind her, spreading out along the wall. Lisa quickly shot small bursts of flame into dusty sconces along the wall, brightening up the cell a bit and making its occupant visible.

Ichigo was kneeling on the floor, his arms held up at angles above his head by shackles hanging from the ceiling, while his ankles were secured by shackles that had been bolted to the floor. The large cuffs themselves were crafted out of _sekkiseki_ stone, and the Shinigami were careful to keep their _reiatsu_ to a minimum to avoid harming Ichigo.

He looked up as they entered, his eyes widening at the show of support from all of his friends and family. Small tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, and he let them fall.

"Thank you," he said, and his father smiled sadly.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ichigo," Isshin said. "You never have to thank your family for something like this."

"You're welcome, though," Shunsui said with a smile, before Lisa elbowed him hard in the ribs. "What was that for? I'm not part of his family, am I?"

The Lieutenant adjusted her glasses.

"Just shut up."

Ichigo smiled, glad to see a bit of happiness around him. As the reality of the situation settled over him, though, he frowned.

"So, they've decided?"

Urahara nodded.

"They have."

"And?"

"They're going to use the _Sougyoku._ Any other way—"

"And they risk my Hollow coming out," Ichigo finished, mentioning his hybrid nature with total calm. "At least it'll be quick."

"Ichigo," Shunsui spoke up, stepping forward and kneeling down to face the prisoner at eye-level, "I think we can both agree that this is no time for games or lies, can't we?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Good. The truth is better than both of those, I think. And you aren't very good at telling the truth."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Shunsui smiled, and Ichigo knew in that moment he'd been making a mistake underestimating the easygoing Captain for so many years. There was definitely a reason why the Captain Commander thought so highly of him.

"We both know, don't we?"

"No," Ichigo stalled, "I don't think we do."

The Captain chuckled.

"Well, I know I do, so we'll go with that. What happened to your Hollow powers, Ichigo? If Kaien is to be trusted—and I do trust him—you looked quite different when you were trying to kill him two nights ago."

"Captain Kyoraku," Kaien began, "he wasn't—"

"It's fine," Ichigo cut his cousin off, his voice heavy. "Don't make excuses for me." He turned his attention back to Shunsui. "After that Vasto Lorde Hollow attacked me, I woke up in my Spirit World. Another Hollow was there. One that looked like me. It attacked me, and I beat it."

"Not bad," Shunsui commended him. "Then what did you do? Kill it?"

"No. I just locked it up."

The Captain nodded.

"I see. How?"

Ichigo grit his teeth, knowing exactly where this was going and hating Shunsui for making it so public.

"I used a _bakudo_."

"Interesting," Shunsui commented, his voice detached. "Captain Urahara," he continued, calling to Kisuke over his shoulder, "how big was the passing margin on Ichigo's _kido_ examination?"

"One of the thinnest I've ever seen."

"And you used a _bakudo_ to seal in this Hollow. I assume you bypassed it, right? Those incantations can take some time in a fight, after all."

Ichigo glared at the Captain.

"I did."

Isshin frowned, hating the sound of the anguish in his son's voice.

"Kyoraku, that's enough."

"I'm almost done, not to worry," Shunsui replied, not budging from his position on the floor. "So, you bypassed it. And which _bakudo_ did you use, Ichigo?"

Ichigo held his silence for as long as he could, and he could feel the door to his past slamming shut in front of him.

"_Tozansho._"

His voice trembled under the weight of the admission, and for an instant afterward he thought he saw something like an apology in Shunsui's eyes.

He could hear the gasps of surprise, the sound that Ichigo had done his hardest to avoid all of these years. His biggest secret had been dragged out into the open, and he had been powerless to stop it.

"There're only a few people who can pull off a bypassed 70th-level _kido_ at full power," Shunsui said, after another moment had passed. "Why've you been hiding who you are for so long?"

Ichigo hung his head, and said nothing for several moments. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and shaken.

"Because I was scared of it. Of what I could do."

He felt a weight lifting off of his shoulders at the admission, but it did nothing to ease the emptiness in his chest. He felt like a coward.

"Why?" Shunsui pressed, determined to get to the bottom of the issue. He didn't trust Ichigo's friends or family to ask the truly hard questions, and it was very likely that the future of Soul Society depended upon someone doing just that.

"Why?" Ichigo repeated, surprised. "Why do you think? Power like mine…" he went quiet, remembering his mother's face. "All it does is destroy. All it does is kill."

"What happened… it wasn't your fault."

Ichigo stared at Shunsui again, anger rushing up to drown out his guilt.

"Don't fuck with me!" he snarled, straining against the shackles as he lunged forward, stopping just in front of the Captain. "I killed her! I cut her in half, you bastard! It was my fault! If I'd held back, I could have saved her! If I'd held back—!"

"We would have buried both of you yesterday."

The cold, even force of Shunsui's words cut the strength out from under Ichigo's anger, and he fell silent.

"Your mother was no more herself in that moment than you were yourself when you tried to carve Kaien up into pieces," Shunsui continued, as calm as ever. "Let it go."

Ichigo looked at him blankly, shocked by his callousness.

"You have no idea what that felt like," he said, and Lisa stood up a little straighter as her body tensed. "How can you say that, when you have no idea what I went through?!"

Shunsui's eyes lost all traces of their warmth, the muscles in his face drawn with tension.

"Let me tell you something, Ichigo," he said, the deliberate edge in his tone putting everyone in the room ill-at-ease. "You know nothing about me. I'm going to give you a piece of advice: never assume you do, ever again. Is that clear?"

The implications of his words were impossible to miss, and Ichigo hung his head in shame.

"Yes."

Shunsui sighed loudly, sounding physically and emotionally drained.

"I think we're done here," he said, putting a comforting hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "What's going to happen next, it could either be very good… or very, very bad. And that's up to you, Ichigo. Time to grow up."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"Captain Kuchiki," Shunsui called out, "I think you have some dinner to help your wife prepare, don't you?"

It only took Byakuya a second to catch on, and he only paused long enough to spare a meaningful glance at Rukia before he nodded.

"I think we do," he answered, with perfect poise. "Hisana, let's go."

Hisana nodded, following out of the cell at her husband's side.

As soon as they'd been gone long enough, Shunsui raised one of his hands up behind him.

"Lisa-chan, I think I'll do the honors."

"Suits me fine," Lisa said, pulling a key out of her pocket and tossing it to her Captain.

"See, Ichigo," Shunsui said as he held the gleaming key up into the light, his voice back to sounding completely paternal, "the problem with shackles is, even if they're a mile thick, they always have locks. And locks," he finished with a flourish, "Always have keys."

"Not these," Ichigo replied flatly, holding his wrists up. There were no locks to be found on the cuffs.

"What?"

"That's the key to the cell door."

Shunsui stared at the smooth stone cuffs for a few moments, before huffing indignantly.

"Damn," he cursed. "That's Yama-ji for you, always spoiling my fun. Fine." He got up, drawing his zanpakuto from their scabbards. "Hold still."

The two large blades of Shunsui's _shikai_ shattered the pair of handcuffs a moment later, enough controlled force in the swing that Ichigo's wrists were completely unscathed. Shunsui stepped around and repeated the process on Ichigo's ankles, freeing him.

"This part's going to feel a bit weird," the Captain said, pressing the face of one of his swords to Ichigo's forehead. "Apologies."

The jolt of sudden _reiryoku_ stung worse than an electric shock, and Ichigo shook under its force.

"That should be enough to get you back on your feet," Shunsui told him. "Can your Hollow open up a _garganta_?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Excellent. Lisa-chan, please get the Lieutenant's zanpakuto."

Lisa turned and left the room, returning a moment later with Zangetsu.

"Why are you doing this, Captain Kyoraku?" Rukia asked, confused by his unpredictable mood.

"Good question, Rukia-chan!" Shunsui said with a smile, turning his attention away from Ichigo as Lisa helped the exhausted prisoner to his feet. "I'm helping him because the alternative is, honestly, unspeakably horrifying," the Captain explained, his upbeat tone serving only to further confuse Rukia.

Shunsui noticed his, and looked carefully at the Third Seat.

"What do you know about the _Sougyoku_?" he asked.

"It's a giant blade," Rukia answered. "Used for executions of the worst criminals. It's the most powerful weapon in Soul Society."

"Yes, it is," Shunsui replied. "And that was a perfect answer, for someone who's never actually seen it being used. The truth is, the _Sougyoku_ is alive," he finished, the theatrical tone from earlier reappearing.

"What?"

"It's alive," Shunsui repeated. "Only the Shinigami who've seen it in action, like Captain Shiba there," he explained, pointing to Isshin, "know that. It's a big secret, so don't go telling people."

Lisa scoffed, earning her a quick mock-glare from her Captain.

"Point is," Shunsui resumed, "the blade is alive. It feels. It judges the people it has been commanded to execute. And rarely, very, very rarely, it pardons them. In the face of unbendable will, and unbendable strength, the blade relents. That is what I'm afraid of."

"But why?" Kaien asked, joining the conversation again. Shunsui smiled at him.

"Because I know the Captain Commander," he said. "Yama-ji wouldn't stop at that. He would hunt Ichigo down anyway, and do whatever it took to kill him. Because what you are, Ichigo," he continued, looking over at the recovering prisoner again, "is something we've never seen before. Central 46 is scared half to death of that, and even more scared of what you represent."

"And what are you scared of, Captain Kyoraku?"

"I'm scared that you and Yama-ji would burn the Seireitei down to the ground," he said. "Before… whatever happened to you happened, you were strong. A lot stronger than you wanted anyone to know about. But now? After this?" He shook his head in wonderment. "I have no idea what you could do, if you were driven far enough.

"I want to live long enough to get old and fat and even more rich than I already am, Ichigo," Shunsui finished. "We don't need to fight another war. Not now, not ever. The last one almost cost us everything."

"But, even if I do manage to get to Hueco Mundo, and survive," Ichigo replied, puzzled, "the Captain Commander will still order my capture. And then I'll get put in front of the _Sougyoku_ anyway."

"Yes, he'll order you to be captured," Shunsui said, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "And since you've been convicted of high treason, Yama-ji will turn to the best of the best to organize your capture: the _Onmitsukido._ Yoruichi-san, remind me who runs that branch?"

The Captain of the Second Division grinned.

"Last time I checked, I did."

"And don't these fine young people all look like strong soldiers who would stop at nothing to make sure Ichigo was found, and brought back home safely?"

"Kyoraku-san, I think they certainly do."

"Splendid news!" Shunsui finished with a beaming grin. "I can leave the rest to you, then?"

Yoruichi nodded.

"Of course."

Shunsui looked over at Ichigo one last time, a kind smile on his face.

"Stay alive out there, Ichigo," he said. "Give us boring old people enough time to get your name cleared, and we'll send you the good news."

Ichigo nodded, determination in his eyes again at last.

"Looking forward to it, Captain."

"Lisa-chan," Shunsui said in parting, "I think it's time for us to get out of here. These two need some time alone."

Before Ichigo could finish figuring out the Captain's last words, everyone had left the room but Rukia. She smiled at him, happy and relieved. Ichigo walked forward and drew her into an embrace, and Rukia reciprocated it with a contented sigh.

"I'm glad you're all right."

"So am I," Ichigo said. "I didn't try to attack you, too, did I?"

"No. I left to find your father almost as soon as you transformed."

"Good," Ichigo said, with relief of his own.

"I'm fine," Rukia assured him. "Don't worry. And we'll find a way through this, too. I know we will."

Ichigo said nothing, overjoyed just to be able to hold Rukia again. They stepped back from each other a few moments later, and Ichigo looked at her sadly.

"I have to go."

Rukia smiled, her eyes just as determined as his.

"I know. I'll see you soon."

She took a step forward and kissed him, then turned and quickly left before her resolve weakened.

Ichigo pushed the melancholy out of his mind, closing his eyes and focusing. He reached down into the recesses of his power, finding the place where his Hollow resided and tapping into the energy flowing around it. Acting as though he was opening a _senkaimon_, Ichigo smiled as he heard the _garganta_ being ripped open in front of him. He opened his eyes, gathered himself one last time, and stepped through the breach.

It closed behind him with a discordant, muted whine, leaving the cell empty.

The _kido_ lights in the sconces died, and darkness closed over the silence.

"_Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu._"

The figures of Sousuke Aizen and Gin Ichimaru emerged in the cell as if out of thin air. Aizen gazed at the place where the _garganta_ had been opened, sensing the shreds of Ichigo's _reiatsu_ that remained. He noted with interest that they soon vanished altogether, leaving no traces to follow.

"Well, that was adorable," Gin said with a chuckle, before looking over at his commander. "How d'ya wanna play this one out, Lieutenant Aizen? Should I go after 'im?"

"No," Aizen said calmly. "Let's see where this goes on its own, for now. I think Ichigo will wind up doing all of the hard work for us, Gin. As long as he does, I see no reason not to let him."

Gin's smile widened.

"Whatever you say."

* * *

…

…

**A/N: **So yeah, there's Chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed it! Things're starting to pick up, and the stuff in the story's summary actually happened. Fancy that. I'd love to hear what you all think; the reviews for last chapter were awesome and incredibly encouraging. Thanks again to everyone who took the time to leave 'em.

And big thanks as always to **JasoTheArtisan**, beta wizard and all-around badass. Go read his Bleach Trilogy ('So', 'Anonymous' and 'Heroes') if you haven't already. It's top-shelf stuff. **  
**

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!

**- Jazz**


	3. Roots

**Schism**

**Chapter 3: Roots  
**

* * *

Captain Commander Yamamoto stood at the head of the double-line of Captains, his unyielding glare the only outward sign he gave of his inward fury.

"Ichigo Kurosaki has escaped," he said. "How this happened is uncertain, but that does not concern me as much as the traitor escaping judgment. He will be brought to justice. He will be punished, and the laws of Soul Society will be upheld."

"I've been able to determine his method of escape," Urahara spoke up from his place in the ranks. "My teams haven't picked up any trace of Ichigo's _reiatsu_ in Soul Society, and there wasn't any sign of him having used a _senkaimon_ to escape. That means that opening a _garganta_ with his Hollow powers was the only way Ichigo could have left his cell."

"Do you think he fled to the Human World, or to Hueco Mundo?"

"Hueco Mundo, Captain Commander," Urahara answered. "We have too many sentries in the Human World. Ichigo wouldn't take that risk."

"Very well." Yamamoto tapped the end of his wooden staff hard against the floor. "Yoruichi Shihoin!"

"Sir."

"I trust Captain Urahara has made you aware of this situation?"

"He has."

"And have you considered a team of operatives to locate and capture the traitor?"

"Yes, Captain Commander," Yoruichi answered. "I believe the best group for the job would be Kaien Shiba, Kukaku Shiba, Renji Abarai, Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue."

"An interesting collection," Yamamoto said, his skepticism evident. "Do you believe this is a game, Shioin?"

Yoruichi kept herself from flinching, not expecting such scathing opposition.

"No, sir."

"You don't?" Yamamoto echoed, his eyes opening wider to glare intently at the head of the _Onmitsukido_. "Because your idea of sending a team made up mostly of unproven children, without a single Captain among them, into Hueco Mundo—that is not a plan that does honor to your station. To say nothing of the curious fact that those are all close friends of the traitor we are seeking to apprehend. Were you anyone else, I would have stripped you of your rank."

Yoruichi grit her teeth, the anger in her eyes perfectly evident.

"And sending Captains into Hueco Mundo blind would leave Soul Society defenseless, sir. And if they were to be killed, we would lose an unacceptable amount of our strength."

"That is a risk I prefer taking over letting that abomination of a traitor run free. Until Captain Urahara can find an explanation for what happened to Kurosaki, we are to operate under the assumption that whatever infected the traitor is contagious. We cannot let this disease continue to spread!"

Yoruichi fell silent and stared straight ahead, her eyes locking with Isshin's in a silent apology.

"Since the Second Division Captain is incapable," Yamamoto continued after a few moments, "I will decide who is to hunt down the traitor. Kensei Muguruma. Mashiro Kuna. Shinji Hirako. Hiyori Sarugaki. Lisa Yadomaru. Soi Fon. Byakuya Kuchiki. Kaien Shiba. Yoruichi Shioin," the Captain Commander finished, "I will give you the opportunity to prove yourself worthy of retaining your station. Lead this group, and do not fail. If the traitor resists capture, your orders are to kill him without hesitation. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

"All of you may go."

The assembled Captains turned and walked out of the room, saying nothing out of respect for Isshin. The Captain of Tenth Division was outwardly calm, but everyone around him could feel that his _reiatsu_ was trembling like a taut bowstring. Yoruichi let her pace lag enough to walk abreast of Shunsui, who looked split between sadness and apprehension.

"I'm sorry," Yoruichi said lowly. "I tried."

"Don't apologize. Hopefully Yama-ji will snap out of it before anything really bad happens, but he's not the biggest fan of listening to people who disagree with him."

"I'll keep her safe, Shunsui. I promise."

The other Captain smiled.

"Thanks," he said. "But Lisa-chan might surprise you. She's quite strong."

"Hey, Yoruichi," Shinji called over. "When're we leaving? I didn't get much sleep last night, y'know."

"Then go take a nap," Yoruichi replied, breaking apart from the group and moving in the direction of her Division. "We'll leave tonight. Rest up, say your goodbyes, and meet me at my headquarters at midnight."

She disappeared in a flash of _shunpo_, and Shinji glanced over at Byakuya.

"You ever see her that mad before?"

"No."

The Fifth Division Captain gave a bitter smile, shifting his gaze over to Kensei.

"Yeah, this'll be fun all right."

Shinji walked away from the group of Captains as it began to split apart, trying to shake off the feeling of concern weighing him down. Hiyori was a capable fighter, but also a total hothead. Not to mention she'd never been sent out as far as Hueco Mundo before, either. What the hell was that old man thinking? Shinji was relieved that at least he'd be able to keep an eye on her, but that didn't stop the whole thing from stinking. Was Ichigo really that much of a threat? Shinji'd seen the kid around Byakuya's sister-in-law, acting like a total idiot. No way would he stand a chance at bringing down Soul Society. So why was the Captain Commander so insistent?

Not to mention that Shinji found himself completely agreeing with Yoruichi's earlier point: sending that many Captains off into the Hollow's homeland was batshit crazy. There were few things that carried as much prestige for a Hollow as killing a Shinigami, and taking out a Captain was even better.

And as confident as he was in his own strength, Shinji had no illusions about its limits. If they got swarmed badly enough, they were all gonna get buried beneath the sand. Especially if what Kaien had reported a few nights ago about a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow attacking Ichigo was true—of the few recorded Captain fatalities in the history of Soul Society, every single one that hadn't come from a duel for the position with another Shinigami had come from the attack of a Vasto Lorde.

"Is something wrong, Captain Hirako?"

Shinji blinked himself out of his thoughts, seeing that his steps had carried him all the way to the Fifth Division. His Lieutenant was standing at the ready, as suspiciously unassuming as always.

"Nothin' at all, Sousuke. Just got orders from the boss. Leaving tonight. Gonna be gone a few days, so you'll get run of the place. Don't screw around while I'm out, yeah?"

"Of course, Captain Hirako. Might I ask where you'll be going?"

"Hueco Mundo," Shinji answered. "The lovely land of rainbows and sunshine."

Aizen's expression became puzzled.

"But, Captain… Hueco Mundo has no sun."

"No shit," Shinji shot back, making his way into the main room of the Division. "Does every joke fly over your head, or do you just like pissin' me off?"

Behind his Captain's back, Aizen allowed himself a smile. He followed his superior into the room, walking over to the kettle that sat over a flame, steam rising out of its spout and coiling in the air.

"Why are you going?"

"Why do you need to know? Captain's business."

Aizen poured two cups of tea, handing one to Shinji and keeping one for himself as he sat down. Waiting until his Captain had taken a sip, Aizen spoke again.

"It's about Ichigo Kurosaki, isn't it?"

Shinji maintained his composure perfectly as he swallowed his tea, as if he'd been expecting the question. Putting his cup down, he glared at his Lieutenant.

"Where'd you get that idea?"

"Word travels fast, Captain Hirako," Aizen answered, adjusting his glasses. "Ichigo Kurosaki escaped from his cell last night. And if he hasn't already been found, he's nowhere in Soul Society. That means he has to be in Hueco Mundo."

"Or he could be in the Human World," Shinji said, smiling. "Don't worry about it. Focus on what's important."

Aizen affected a blank look.

"Which is?"

"Updating my jazz collection!" Shinji answered, before finishing off the last of his tea. "I hear that Coltrane guy is somethin' special. You've got until dinner tonight, Sousuke, and I'm timing ya. Get on it."

"Of course, Captain Hirako."

"That's more like it," Shinji said with a smile as he rose to his feet and walked towards his room. "I'm going back to sleep. Later."

Aizen watched his Captain leave, smiling again as soon as he was alone. He couldn't have thought up a better alibi himself for a visit to the Human World. Aizen left the Fifth Division and made his way to a tranquil spot in a field not too far away from the Seireitei. There he found the Lieutenant of the Third Division, sitting cross-legged on the ground engaged in _jinzen_. His zanpakuto lay in his lap, its small size belying its formidable power.

"Gin."

Gin opened his eyes, their icy blue glinting in the noonday sun.

"Lieutenant Aizen. Time to go?"

"Yes. I would hate to keep our friend waiting, after he did such good service for us."

Gin's ever-present smile widened as he rose to his feet, slipping his zanpakuto back into his sleeve. Aizen noted his closest subordinate's maturation with pride: the promise Gin had first exhibited all those years ago as a child had continued to flourish as he'd grown into his power, coming close to exceeding even Aizen's own expectations.

He would need such strength for what was to come.

Aizen drew Kyoka Suigetsu and slid it into the empty space in front of him, opening up a _senkaimon_. He and Gin moved through the portal, quickly traversing the _dangai_ and emerging on the other side in the Human World. It only took a few minutes of navigating crowded streets before they came to an alleyway marked by a particular neon sign. It was completely unremarkable by any standards, given importance only by the meeting that was due to take place there, hidden in plain sight.

"You sure took your damn time," the Hollow said as he walked out from the cover of the shadows, his eyes glinting with spite. "I was starting to think you wouldn't show up."

"I find your lack of faith disturbing," Aizen told the Vasto Lorde. "You did as you were told, and you didn't think I would fulfill my end of the bargain?"

The Vasto Lorde chuckled scornfully.

"Forgive me, Aizen-sama," he said, spitting out the honorific derisively, "but Hollow don't get far in life by trusting Shinigami."

Aizen said nothing, his confident smirk never wavering. He motioned to Gin, who set to work constructing a _kido_ barrier to block them off completely from their surroundings. As soon as he was done, Aizen extracted a dark, blue-black orb from the folds of his robes.

"It's still incomplete," Aizen said, "but aided by my power, it should be sufficient for granting you your reward."

The Vasto Lorde didn't have a chance to speak before the orb in Aizen's hand seemed to come alive, snaking out small black tendrils and prodding them into his flesh. A flare of powerful energy erupted a heartbeat later, and the Hollow's world turned white.

When his senses returned, the Vasto Lorde looked down at himself and was surprised to see what looked like a Shinigami's body where his monochrome flesh had been only moments earlier. Reaching a hand up to his face, the Vasto Lorde touched his cheek and realized what had happened.

He was an Arrancar now.

"How do you feel?"

The Arrancar looked at Aizen and smiled, his now-green eyes bright with hunger.

"Powerful."

"Good. I have one more task for you to accomplish, my friend. But first, you'll have to pardon my rudeness. I never got your name."

"Darrón," the Arrancar answered. "What else do you need?"

"There is a group of Captains and Lieutenants set to infiltrate Hueco Mundo tonight, in search of one of their own whom they believe has gone rogue. I want you to intercept them, and do to them what you did to Ichigo Kurosaki and his mother."

Darrón nodded, his smile turning even more vicious.

"I'd have done that even without orders from you, Aizen. How many Shinigami will there be?"

"Enough for you to fully use your new powers, I'm sure," Aizen said as he walked away with Gin at his side, back down the alley. "Don't disappoint me."

The Arrancar laughed scornfully, ripping open a _garganta_ and passing through it.

* * *

Nelliel Tu Odelschwank kept herself prone, her mask fragment on top of her head blending into white sand and hiding her sharp golden eyes almost completely from view. She masked her _reiatsu_ as much as possible, desperate to stay away from this new stranger until she knew just what he was up to.

Seeing a newborn Hollow cutting through Adjuchas and hordes of Gillian like they were nothing would have been shocking enough, but seeing a Shinigami literally drop out of the sky and go on a rampage for seemingly no reason at all was downright horrifying. And not only that, but the orange-haired warrior wasn't even wearing the uniform of an enlisted Shinigami. He was wearing pure white robes, which was a designation Nelliel didn't understand at all.

Right now, the Shinigami was facing a group of four Adjuchas. Nelliel knew them by sight, they were some of Baraggan Louisenbairn's toughest thugs. Still, the Shinigami was unfazed, staring them down just like any other Hollow.

"Hey," one of the Adjuchas called out, "just who the hell do you think you are? You do know this is Baraggan-sama's land, right? Shinigami get killed on sight here!"

"Good thing I'm not a Shinigami anymore, then," the Shinigami replied, confusing Nelliel even further. "Who's 'Baraggan'?"

"What?" another of the Adjuchas exclaimed, surprised. "How can you not know who Baraggan-sama is? He's the King of Hueco Mundo!"

"I don't care," the Shinigami said flatly, looking around at his would-be opponents. "Look, I've had enough of killing Hollow. It's all I've done since I got here. At least you're smart enough to talk, so can we make some kind of truce? I don't want to have to kill you all, too."

"You make it sound like we're already dead." The Adjuchas laughed. "You got some guts, Shinigami. What's your name?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki," the Shinigami said, still not having drawn his zanpakuto. "Why?"

The Adjuchas laughed.

"I just wanted to get your name before I killed you."

The group of Hollow unleashed their combined _reiatsu_, and yet Ichigo stood his ground. He sighed, and Nelliel thought he even looked sad. Which was strange, but not as strange as the fact that the longer Nelliel observed this Shinigami, the more familiar he seemed. Had they crossed blades once before, and she'd simply forgotten?

"So," Ichigo said, "I can't convince you to walk away?"

"Of course not," one of the Adjuchas said. "Now, at least try to make this fun for us, Shinigami."

Ichigo said nothing, raising his right hand. But he didn't reach back to grip his zanpakuto: he just held his hand over his face for a moment, and then brought it back down sharply.

What Nelliel and the four Adjuchas saw made them all gasp.

A mask covered the Shinigami's face, and his _reiatsu_ suddenly went from purposefully controlled to ragingly, wildly powerful. Nelliel couldn't see Ichigo's eyes from where she was lying, but she guessed they were black and yellow.

"_Fine," _Ichigo growled, drawing his zanpakuto. _"Just remember, you could have walked away."_

"Bastard," one of the Adjuchas said, clearly frightened. "What are you?"

Ichigo said nothing, vanishing in a burst of speed that was unmistakably _sonido_. The Adjuchas that had just spoken was lying on the sand in two halves an instant later, fading into nothingness as Ichigo reappeared and swung his zanpakuto back around towards two of the other Adjuchas.

"_Getsuga Tensho."_

A huge crescent of red and black energy screamed out of the cleaver-like blade, slicing the two Hollow to pieces. The name of the attack put the last piece of the puzzle together in Nelliel's head, and she understood why Ichigo looked so familiar—the name of that attack couldn't be a coincidence.

There was only one Adjuchas left, and his resolve was clearly shaken.

"_Get out of here," _Ichigo said. _"Never come after me again."_

"Screw you!" the Hollow shouted, jumping towards Ichigo with a yell. Ichigo raised his arm, opened his hand out in front of him, and a ball of red energy began to gather in the air. The Adjuchas was too committed to the attack to break off, and Nelliel braced herself.

"_Cero."_

The titanic blast ripped through the still air of Hueco Mundo, sending a shockwave of sand kicking up along its sides and searing a trench of glass into the ground. Ichigo lowered his arm.

"_Huh. __I didn't think that would work,"_ he mused, before reaching up again and dismissing his mask with a wave. Ichigo looked over to his left, and Nelliel realized that he was staring right at her.

"You can come out," he said. "I won't hurt you. I know you've been following me for a while. Weird, for a Hollow."

Nelliel got to her feet, judging from the astonished look on Ichigo's face that he'd never seen an Arrancar before.

"You're not…" he began, before seeing the Hollow hole in her chest. "Wait… you are, but… what _are_ you?"

"I should be asking you that," Nelliel said as she walked towards Ichigo, keeping one hand on the hilt of her zanpakuto. "What kind of Shinigami can shoot a _cero_? How did you do that?"

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

"It's a long story I don't want to tell you," Ichigo insisted, frowning. Nelliel relented, realizing it was probably a sensitive topic. Ichigo sighed again, suddenly looking very tired. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's just been a long day."

Nel said nothing, recognizing all too easily the signs that the Shinigami needed some space.

"You didn't answer my question," Ichigo said after a moment. "What are you?"

"An Arrancar," Nel explained. "It's what happens when a Hollow breaks off a piece of their mask. It's how we evolve. See?" She said, tapping her knuckles against the fragment covering the top of her head. "It's why we look like you Shinigami."

"And you have a zanpakuto," Ichigo observed, looking at Nel's _katana_ with interest. A thought occurred to him then, and Ichigo shifted his intent gaze back up to Nel's face. "How many Arrancar are there?"

Nel shrugged.

"A handful," she answered. "I only know six others, but we usually stay out of each other's way."

"I've never heard anyone in Soul Society talking about Arrancar before," Ichigo said. "Have you ever met a Shinigami?"

"I have," Nel said, confusing Ichigo even further.

"But then… why would they keep you and the others a secret?"

"I don't know. You'd have to ask them."

He shook his head, looking downcast once again.

"I don't think I'll be able to do that."

They were walking now, and Ichigo turned his head to look at Nel.

"Should I be worried about the other Arrancar?"

She shrugged.

"Some of them might want to fight you. Others won't, and some will know not to try. It depends who you're asking about."

Ichigo looked at her then, and a thought came into his head that was crazy, dangerous and almost absolutely guaranteed to blow up in his face—but it was the best plan he could think of.

"Do you think," he began, choosing his words carefully, "that the other Arrancar would be interested in an alliance?"

"Why? To attack Soul Society?"

Ichigo shook his head.

"No. Just to survive. I think we'd all stand a better chance working together, don't you?"

Nel stared at Ichigo, unsure if this was some strange spin on her wildest dream, or if this Shinigami was actually proposing to do what she'd hoped to see happen for decades.

"I—I do," she finally said. "And I think they might be, or at least some of them. And the ones who don't probably won't want to fight against strength in numbers, so they don't matter."

Ichigo was quiet for a few moments, and then he nodded. When he looked up at Nel again, his eyes were bright with conviction.

"Okay," he said, "I'll give it a try. You can come with me, if you want."

Nel smiled, her restrained caution finally starting to melt away.

"I'd like that. It's been a long time since I had friends."

Ichigo smiled in kind, glad to be off to a good start.

"Who's the closest Arrancar to us?" he asked, and Nel pointed off towards the large, fortress-like castle in the distance.

"Baraggan Louisenbairn, who lives in that castle. He calls it Las Noches," Nel answered. "He might take some convincing, though."

"If he's the same one those Adjuchas were talking about, I can believe that," Ichigo replied. "Kings don't usually share power with anyone."

"Well," Nel said hopefully as the pair moved towards Las Noches as fast as their legs could carry them, "there's a first time for everything."

* * *

Rukia Kuchiki looked her superior square in the face, her eyes determined and unblinking.

"You're not coming with us," Kaien said bluntly, preempting her. "I'm putting my foot down on this one. It's too dangerous."

"I've fought Hollow before, Kaien-dono."

The Lieutenant shrugged.

"Regular ones, sure. Menos, a couple of times. We're talking about Hueco Mundo, Kuchiki. Adjuchas stomp around like they own the place. Menos Grande travel in swarms. I know Shinigami who've come back from there with nightmares so bad they never go out into the field again. I'm not going to have your death on my conscience, period. You're staying here. End of story."

"But—"

"No!" Kaien shouted, making Rukia take a step back. "I made a promise to your sister and to Captain Kuchiki that I'd keep you safe, and that's a promise I'm going to keep. Is that clear?"

Rukia sighed, nodding her head in acquiescence.

"Yes, sir."

Kaien exhaled, bringing himself back under control.

"Good." He smiled, looking at his protégé with paternal affection. "We'll bring him back, Kuchiki. I don't think there's ever been an expedition this large into Hueco Mundo before. Besides," Kaien finished, "what kind of cousin would I be if I let Ichigo down? I have an example to set!"

Rukia forced herself to smile, but the gesture was a hollow one.

"May I go, Kaien-dono?"

"Sure, Kuchiki. And chin up! Trust us, we'll get the job done."

Rukia bowed and walked away, moving through the halls of the Thirteenth Division in a half-aware daze. Ichigo was somewhere in Hueco Mundo right now, fighting to stay alive, and she couldn't even get permission to go help him. Hadn't she proven herself? Hadn't all of her training had a point? How long would it take before Kaien-dono and the other senior officers started giving her the same trust they constantly asked for?

Rukia let out a sound that was halfway between a shout and a snarl, startling a trio of nearby Shinigami. They darted away, leaving Rukia feeling even worse.

"_You're worrying for no reason, Rukia."_

The calm voice of her zanpakuto spirit spoke unexpectedly in Rukia's head, and she stopped walking immediately. Ducking into a side room, she assumed a _jinzen_ posture on the ground and set Sode no Shirayuki in her lap, waiting for the spirit to continue speaking.

"_You've sparred with that Kurosaki boy countless times,"_ Sode no Shirayuki told her, _"but you've never bothered to search out his true strength. You're blind to his power, and you always have been."_

"And you're not?" Rukia asked, annoyed by her sword's accusation. "You've never told me this before, either."

"_I was respecting the wishes of his zanpakuto,"_ Sode no Shirayuki replied, unmoved. _"But the time for that is past. Zangetsu's power is monstrous. If he had wished it, he could have shattered me like a piece of kindling."_

Rukia was suddenly torn between feeling relieved that her zanpakuto was confirming Ichigo's apparently immense power, and irritated that he'd been going easy on her for decades.

"Rukia? Rukia?"

The sound of her name pulled the Third Seat out of her meditation, and she opened her eyes to find a familiar, concerned face looking down at her. The girl's wide brown eyes were framed by bright orange hair, and the arm-band of the Fourth Division was fastened around one of her arms… a change that made Rukia's heart feel heavy all over again.

"I'm fine, Orihime," she said, getting to her feet. What's up?"

"I heard," Orihime answered lowly, "about what happened to Ichigo."

"Yeah, it's pretty screwed up."

The newly-promoted Lieutenant stared at her friend, taken aback.

"That's it?"

"What?"

"You're just going to let him go?" Orihime pressed, incredulous. "I can't believe that."

"What am I supposed to do, huh?" Rukia shot back, hurt. "Go to Hueco Mundo on my own?"

"No," Orihime said firmly, putting a hand on Rukia's shoulder. "You're going to go with me."

"But… did Captain Unohana say you could go?"

Orihime gave a short laugh.

"Of course she didn't."

"Then you'll get demoted once she finds out, Orihime."

"I don't care!" the Lieutenant snapped, the force in her voice catching Rukia off-guard. "I didn't want this promotion, I didn't ask for it, and it shouldn't even be mine!" she continued, tears in her eyes. "Lieutenant Kurosaki should still be here! If I'd gone with her that night, I could've saved her. I know it. I could've saved her."

Orihime's voice trailed off as she kept repeating the phrase, before her words were eclipsed by sobs. Rukia drew her into an embrace, running her hand through Orihime's hair.

"I miss her, too," she said softly, knowing that she would never truly understand her friend's pain.

It was a few moments before Orihime pulled away. She composed herself and sniffled one last time before meeting Rukia's eyes again, her determination evident.

"I'm going to Hueco Mundo," she said. "I owe the Kurosaki name a debt, and I'm gonna repay it. You can come with me if you want, or stay here. Your choice."

Orihime turned and walked away, leaving Rukia near the threshold. She hesitated for a moment, before gripping her zanpakuto tightly and making up her mind.

"Damn it."

Rukia followed Orihime through the halls, saying nothing. She looked over at the barrettes nestled in Orihime's hair, quietly marveling at the extent of her friend's _reiatsu_ control.

As soon as they were out in the open and away from any eavesdroppers, Orihime spoke up.

"Open a _senkaimon_," she said. "If I can cut through the wall of the _dangai_, we should wind up in the void leading to Hueco Mundo."

"You don't sound too sure," Rukia said, hesitating. "That could also just kill us, if the Cleaner doesn't do that first."

"It won't," Orihime insisted. "It'll work. It has to."

Rukia smiled.

"You sound just like Ichigo."

Orihime grinned, her earlier grief all but gone entirely.

"Thanks!"

Rukia took a deep breath, composing herself one last time. She was pretty sure that Kaien-dono was going to have her court-martialed for this, but Rukia wasn't about to let Orihime go marching off into Hueco Mundo by herself, either.

Sode no Shirayuki pierced through the air, disappearing into the space hidden between the planes of existence. Once it was in all the way, Rukia twisted her zanpakuto like a key, opening the _senkaimon._ She and Orihime darted into it, closing it quickly before anyone could catch on to what they'd done.

The pair had only been in the _dangai_ for a few moments when the distant, fast-approaching rumble of the Cleaner reached them, and Rukia looked at her friend with worry.

"Whatever you're planning on doing," she said, "now would be a great time!"

"On it," Orihime replied, putting her hands out in front of her. _"Koten Zanshun!"_

A triangle of orange energy snapped into existence in front of her, and Orihime sent it barreling straight into the wall of the _dangai_. It sliced clean through, laying bare the black void that stretched beyond it for as far as the eye could see.

"Come on!" Orihime called out, stepping into the blackness and summoning _reishi_ beneath her feet. Rukia hurried after her, barely making it through the opening before the Cleaner came roaring down the tunnel. Rukia's foot slipped, and only Orihime's quick reflexes saved her from tumbling off into the darkness.

"Thanks," Rukia breathed out as soon as her friend had hauled her up to safety. She was silent for a few moments, awestruck by the vast expanse of nothingness in front of her. "So, where to?"

"I'm going to head towards the strongest _reiatsu_ I can sense," Orihime answered. "If we're lucky, it'll lead us right to Ichigo."

"That's a big 'if'," Rukia said, "but I guess it's better than nothing."

Orihime focused, stretching her senses out into the distance. It only took a few moments before she ran into a barrier of _reiatsu_ so strong it almost made her lose her footing, something that felt stronger than any Shinigami she'd seen in battle.

"I think I found him," she said. "Let's go."

The pair hurried off into the black, a blue pathway of _reishi_ keeping them on track. When Orihime stopped, Rukia halted alongside her, feeling the immense amount of _reiatsu_ even through the dead space between them and Hueco Mundo.

"Are you sure this is him?" she asked, and Orihime clenched her fists.

"No," she said. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Rukia answered, drawing her zanpakuto. Orihime raised her hands again, preparing herself.

"_Koten Zanshun!"_

The stark, moonlit world of Hueco Mundo opened up before the two Shinigami, as the sharp triangle tore through the void like paper. As Rukia and Orihime emerged into the moonlight, what they saw made their blood run cold.

They were standing before a throne, and on that throne sat a skeleton. The skeleton was clad in royal robes, wore a crown, and held an axe that seemed as tall as Rukia and Orihime put together.

"So you really do wish to die, Ulquiorra," the skeleton was saying, before he saw the two newcomers and stopped in surprise. "What? Who the hell are these ants? Friends of yours?"

"I have never seen them before," a cold voice answered from behind Rukia and Orihime, pulling their attention toward it. The speaker was a young man, who outwardly seemed no older than Ichigo. His green eyes were cold and piercing, framed by unruly black hair, and half of a bone-like helmet rested atop his head.

"They appear to be Shinigami."

"Shinigami? Here?" the skeleton said, sounding more bewildered than surprised. "It seems as though everyone has a death-wish today. Poww, Nirgge," he called over to the two Hollow at his side,

"Take them. I will not have my duel interrupted by ants."

The two enormous Hollow, one shaped like a gigantic whale with arms and legs and the other like a huge mammoth, quickly apprehended Orihime and Rukia before they could react.

"You bore me already, Ulquiorra. I've changed my mind. Avirama, Ggio," the skeleton continued, pointing to Ulquiorra, "kill him."

The two Hollow, avian and feline respectively, advancing menacingly on Ulquiorra. The Arrancar drew his _katana_ and stood his ground with absolute poise, waiting.

Avirama struck first, a flurry of talons and wings. Ulquiorra cut one slash upward, mortally wounding Avirama. Feeling the _reiatsu_ of his other opponent, Ulquiorra kept his sword raised and gripped the hilt with his other hand, bringing the blade down with a powerful slash at the exact moment Ggio tried to use Avirama's body as cover for a lunging sneak-attack.

Both corpses hit the ground split into halves.

Silence reigned in the skeleton Hollow's court, until he himself broke it with boisterous laughter.

"That was unexpectedly entertaining," he said, rising from his throne and descending to face Ulquiorra on the court's floor. "Very well, Ulquiorra. perhaps you will make a more enjoyable diversion than I thought. Come. Let us see how long it takes for you to die."

Ulquiorra spared a single, sidelong glance up at the Shinigami, before lowering his eyes again and speaking.

"_Bind," _he said, _"Murcíelago."_

* * *

…

…

A/N: The plot thickens! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'd love to hear your feedback on it, as always. Biggest of thanks to those who reviewed last chapter, you all are champs.

And thanks once again to** JasoTheArtisan**, for helping me improve this chapter and smooth out some of the rough edges (as usual). Go read his Bleach stories if you haven't already. Seriously.

See you next time!

**- Jazz**

_p.s._ - I know the Vizards in canon use _shunpo_ even when they have their masks on, but I had Ichigo use _sonido_ here to show how much control he has over his Hollow. Just in case that made any of you do a double-take.


	4. Metamorphosis

**Schism**

**Chapter 4: **Metamorphosis**  
**

* * *

"Why're you so nervous?"

"What makes you say that, Lisa-chan?"

She smiled, reaching over and moving Shunsui's errant lock of hair away from his face.

"You're tense," she said, looking down at the muscles of his shoulders and arms. "Hard not to see it."

"Hard for me not to be, when you're involved," the Captain teased, provoking a scowl from his Lieutenant. Shunsui's smirk disappeared, his brown eyes turning serious.

"You ready for this?"

"Of course."

"You can be honest with me, you know."

Lisa's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm not lying."

Shunsui sighed, turning over away from her and sitting up on the edge of the bed.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean it like that."

White lines crossed Shunsui's back. Some thin, and some thick enough that they'd made Lisa shiver the first time she'd seen them. She moved towards her Captain, sitting up beside him and looking out the window. The moonlight was eerily beautiful, reminding the pair of the first time they'd met.

"I'm afraid, Lisa-chan," Shunsui admitted at last, his hands folded together in his lap as he gazed into the night sky. "I did the right thing, didn't I?"

"Do you trust Ichigo?" she asked. He nodded. "Then you did the right thing. Have some faith."

Shunsui looked over at her and smiled.

"Look at you, stealing my lines."

"Don't flatter yourself," Lisa said, but a smirk took the sting out of her words. "You're worried about that Hollow, aren't you?" she pressed. "The Vasto Lorde."

"And she's a psychic," Shunsui replied. "Amazing."

Lisa chuckled.

"You're just easy to read."

The Captain fell silent again, only speaking after the chirp of a lone cicada drew him out of his thoughts.

"As long as the Central 46 won't accept what Ichigo's become," he said, "there's going to be a war. It's inevitable."

"Only if Ichigo wants to fight it. And he's not a killer."

"No," Shunsui agreed, "he isn't. But if Yama-ji pushes him hard enough—and pushing is the thing the old man does best—Ichigo will fight. And we'll lose."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah. Who's gonna fight him, Lisa? Isshin? No. Kaien and Kukaku? Of course not. Rukia? Byakuya? Urahara and Yoruichi? They're practically the kid's family at this point. Yoruichi's the closest thing to a mother Ichigo has, whatever her _Onmitsukido_ lines about being pitiless might say. Everyone in the Gotei who likes the kid is going to have a hard time trying to kill him. Assuming, of course," Shunsui finished darkly, "that they could even pull it off. I don't even know if I could."

Lisa's eyes widened in genuine shock at the words.

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely," Shunsui answered. "Even putting aside his power, which is incredible, he still has one major advantage."

"What?"

"I have no idea what his _bankai_ is."

Lisa sputtered.

"His _bankai_?" she repeated, fighting not to laugh at the idea. "Are you serious? How do you know he even has one?"

"I've seen him meditate with his zanpakuto, Lisa-chan," Shunsui answered, still serious. "Most Shinigami struggle with their swords, trying to master them. The reason Captains are so calm is because they're completely at peace with their zanpakuto. Ichigo is as calm as any Captain during _jinzen_. There's no way he doesn't have a _bankai_, even if he tries to hide it."

Lisa was about to reply, but the flutter of a Messenger Butterfly cut her off.

"Looks like it's time," Shunsui said, as Lisa rose to her feet and began putting her uniform back on. He followed suit. "Sorry for being all gloomy."

"Don't worry about it, it's fine."

"I'm not worried about it, I'm just apologizing."

"What you're doing is being a pain in the ass, Shunsui."

They finished getting dressed in silence. The Captain and his Lieutenant stood face-to-face, unspoken doubts filling the space between them.

"With your permission, Sir," Lisa said at last, and Shunsui nodded.

"You may go."

When she reached the door, the Lieutenant was stopped by the sound of her Captain's voice.

"Whatever happens, Lisa-chan," he said, "you'll always have a place here."

Lisa smiled, but didn't trust herself to turn around.

The night air was cool and welcoming, helping Lisa keep her nerves steady as she made her way to the Second Division. Most of the crowd had already gathered, with only Byakuya and Shinji absent. Yoruichi was a commanding presence, the look in her eyes enough to remind the squad gathered here exactly what their mission was, and what was at stake. Kensei was grimly silent, and even Mashiro wasn't making small talk. Soi Fon stood at silent attention by her Captain's side, and Hiyori seemed annoyed by Shinji's absence.

But Kaien certainly seemed the most on-edge of all, his sea green eyes as conflicted and stormy as the waters his zanpakuto commanded. Lisa wondered why the Captain Commander had agreed with Yoruichi's suggestion to include Kaien on the mission, and why Yoruichi had even suggested it in the first place.

"Shiba."

He looked over at the sound of his name, blinking like he was surprised that other people were standing nearby.

"You okay?"

"Not even close."

Lisa frowned.

"Then you shouldn't be here."

"I'm right where I have to be," Kaien replied, calmly defiant. "In case this goes bad, I'll be able to talk Ichigo down."

Lisa relented, deciding it'd be wiser to give her fellow Lieutenant some space. Shinji finally arrived, apologizing for being late mere seconds before Hiyori jumped up and punched him in the face. Byakuya was last, looking even more stoic than usual. No one had to ask why.

"Okay," Yoruichi called out, breaking the tense silence. "Looks like we're all here. Kisuke!"

"No need to shout," the Twelfth Division Captain replied as he stepped out of the nearby shadows and into the light. "I'm right here."

"What's he doing here?" Hiyori asked, and Kisuke smiled.

"Paving the way," he explained. "Hang on, this will only take a minute."

He moved forward into the courtyard, reciting a long incantation. When he was done, a wide, black rift tore itself open in the air with a groan.

"Good luck," he said as the group moved into the void, sharing a pointed look with Yoruichi as she went through last.

Inside the void, Lisa fell into step beside Shinji.

"Man, what a pain," Shinji said. "If we don't pop out in the right place, it could take us weeks to track the kid down. And those're weeks that Aizen gets to be in charge of my Division."

"Why'd you even make him your Lieutenant, if you don't trust him?"

"Because someone's gotta keep an eye on that slippery bastard," Shinji answered, "and it might as well be me."

"Okay, I think I found Ichigo," Kensei called out from his place at the front of the line a few minutes later. "Let's drop in at a distance and approach him. Less chance of him freaking out that way."

"Agreed," Yoruichi said, moving through the ranks and making sure no one was having any doubts. She pulled a small remote from her robes and flipped the switch, sending a signal back to Kisuke. A few moments later, the _garganta_ opened up in front of them.

"Let's go."

The landscape was as dismal and bleak as ever, spindly tree branches poking through the sand that was dotted with the occasional small, scurrying Hollow. The Shinigami were making their way towards Ichigo's slowly-moving _reiatsu_, which was blazing like a beacon in the distance to anyone who knew how to look for it, when it suddenly started moving much faster.

"Shit," Yoruichi bit out, realizing that subtlety wouldn't work if they wanted to catch Ichigo now. "How'd he sense us?"

"He didn't, I don't think," Kensei said. "We just have bad luck."

"Ain't that the truth," Yoruichi grumbled, before planting her feet and focusing. "Everyone, try to keep up."

She was gone in a burst of _shunpo_ a moment later, and the rest of the Shinigami wasted no time in hurrying along in kind. Lisa felt her legs burning after a few solid minutes of sprinting, but she couldn't feel Ichigo's _reiatsu_ getting any closer.

"How fast _is_ this fucking kid?" she called out, forcing her pain from her mind.

"Not fast enough," Yoruichi replied. "We'll still catch him!"

A few moments later, Soi Fon stopped cold in her tracks.

"Wait!" she shouted causing Yoruichi to halt alongside her. "Something's not right!"

The rest of the Shinigami came to a halt as well, on full alert.

"I can't feel anythi—" Mashiro began, cut off when a massive burst of red energy tore up the ground beneath their feet. It swallowed up the Shinigami, sending them plunging down into the underground forest of Heuco Mundo.

Lisa's world was dark and weightless, shot through with spikes of pain.

She was falling, alone. She couldn't see anything, she couldn't hear her friends anywhere nearby.

Lisa hit the forest floor hard, blacking out instantly.

* * *

"_Wake up, Shinigami! I'm getting bored over here!"_

The voice was cold and sharp, and unmistakably belonged to a Hollow. Lisa tried to move her limbs, relieved to find that, while they were burning with pain, they weren't broken. She opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the darkness. She could see the others now; they had all fallen down here, too.

Kensei was the first to his feet, rising with a groan and looking around cautiously.

"_Finally," _the Hollow's voice spoke up again, _"we can get started."_

Kensei immediately set to helping the rest of the Shinigami to their feet, until the whole group was standing up again. Some were more bruised than others, but Lisa noted with cautious optimism that everyone still looked like they could fight.

Kaien was looking around intently, his entire body ready to spring at a moment's notice.

"That voice," he said lowly, sounding as angry as Lisa had ever heard him. "I know that voice."

"_You do?"_ came the reply, bouncing off of the trees in an unsettling distortion. _"Hang on, I recognize your _reiatsu_. You were there in the forest the other night, huh?"_

"Yeah," Kaien answered. "Now get out here, so I can kill you."

"_Big words from the scary Shinigami who couldn't even save his own comrade,"_ the Hollow shot back mockingly. _"I'm shaking over here, really. Almost as badly as that kid was after he saw he'd murdered his own mother."_

The words sent a wave of shock rippling through the Shinigami, and it was only a few moments before they all looked equally murderous.

"_Strike a nerve, did I?"_ the Hollow said, spiteful mirth in his voice. _"Good. That'll speed this up. I wonder which one of you's going first."_

"Ignore him," Yoruichi ordered. "Stay focused and track him down."

"I'm trying, Yoruichi-sama," Soi Fon said, her voice strained. "There's just too much interference!"

"_Instead of worrying about me,"_ the Hollow called out, his voice now sounding a long way away, _"you should worry about the gray-haired guy. He don't look so good."_

All eyes turned to Kensei, who was bent over and clutching his chest.

"What the hell's happening?" he grunted out through the pain, before it spiked massively and he retched, vomiting up white sludge.

The same white sludge Kaien had seen Ichigo become enveloped by that night.

"He's turning into a Hollow!" Kaien shouted, even as Kensei was continuing to retch, his _reiatsu_ fluctuating wildly.

The Captain's face was now almost completely covered in a mask, and white protrusions were beginning to harden on his arms and shoulders.

"We have to get out of here!"

"No!" Mashiro protested, holding her ground. "We can't leave Kensei!"

"I know what happens next, Mashiro! He's going to turn into a full Hollow and kill us!"

"I thought you said Ichigo got his under control fast!"

"He's not exactly a normal comparison to make, damn it!"

"_Whatever you're gonna do, Shinigami,"_ the Hollow's taunting voice returned, _"you better do it quick! Oh, looks like you're too late already," _it continued, perversely delighted._ "Too bad!"_

Hiyori was on all fours on the ground, white sludge pouring out of her mouth and left eye as she screamed in pain.

"_Forgot to mention it earlier," _the Hollow said as the remaining Shinigami felt cold dread cut right through them, _"but I might have, just maybe, spread Hollowification spores around you while you were passed out. So have fun with that! I have somewhere else I need to be, which sucks, because I'd love to stick around and watch you all murder each other. Later!"_

Kensei's mask was complete, his eyes red slits beneath his mask. He roared, sending a wave of _reiatsu_ and pale green energy ripping through the cavernous forest.

"Shit!" Yoruichi cursed, realizing that the worst-case scenario was quickly becoming a horrible reality. "Byakuya, keep him busy! Soi Fon, Lisa, let's take him down!"

"No!" Mashiro screamed, one last protest that was quickly overtaken by a crippling wave of nausea and pain. "No… Kensei…" she breathed out, as white sludge obscured her vision and the world went dark.

Senbonzakura swarmed around Kensei, forcing him to split his attention several ways at once while Yoruichi, Soi Fon and Lisa closed in. Lisa struck first, forcing Kensei to block her and giving the two _Onmitsukido_ members wide open shots.

Soi Fon had been quick to release her _shikai_, and jabbed Kensei with the tip of Suzumebachi. She expected the _homonka_ to bloom as it normally did, but all the Lieutenant was met with were sparks of friction.

"What?" she gasped, surprised. "Did it not make contact?"

Kensei spun his free fist around, slamming it into Soi Fon's midsection and sending her tumbling off along the ground.

Yoruichi bit back her shout as she saw her second-in-command batted away like a fly, channeling her anger into her attack. Covering her fist in raw _kido_ energy, she slammed it right into the back of Kensei's head. The force of the blow sent Yoruichi flying backwards, but she landed on her feet and brought a hand up to protect her eyes from the dust and dirt. When her vision cleared, Yoruichi saw that Kensei had been knocked unconscious.

"That should have cracked his head open," she said, awed by the strength the Hollowfication had given him, before running over to check on Soi Fon. She knelt down beside her, breathing a sigh of relief that Soi Fon was still conscious. Yoruichi gently rolled Soi Fon over onto her back, dismayed to see a mask rapidly spreading over her Lieutenant's face.

"_Yoruichi… sama…"_ Soi Fon groaned, her voice warped by the Hollowfication. _"It hurts."_

"Fight it, Soi Fon," Yoruichi urged, noticing as she observed the _reiatsu_ of her infected companions that some were succumbing to the Hollowification faster than others. "Keep fighting it!"

"_Too much. Can't…" _Soi Fon's eyes went wide, suddenly alive with panic and adrenaline. _"Yoruichi-sama, get away from me! Go!"_

Yoruichi sprang backwards, just seconds before Soi Fon convulsed and lashed out as even more sludge began to emerge, augmenting the white carapace that was making her look more and more like a full-on Hollow with each passing moment.

Soi Fon got to her feet, looked at Yoruichi, and roared. A beam of yellow light formed in front of her mask's open mouth, and a _cero_ soon blasted forward. It slammed into a tree-trunk, causing the massive plant to sway slightly.

"Soi Fon," Yoruichi said, her voice pleading now, "I know you're strong enough. You can beat that thing!"

The Lieutenant's black and gold eyes were bright with pain and anguish. She roared again, before something to the left caught her eye. Yoruichi followed her gaze, and saw Mashiro barreling towards her, mask fully formed.

Yoruichi made to dodge, but a sudden wave of nausea cut her legs out from under her, and a burst of white sludge from one of her eye sockets made her vision swim.

"_Damn it!"_ she hissed, knowing there was no way she could dodge both attacks in her current state. She braced for impact, hoping that Soi Fon at least had enough control left to go easy on her. Soi Fon broke into a run, and Yoruichi estimated that she only had about three seconds before some part of her face really started to hurt.

But Soi Fon served away from her at the last possible moment, slamming right into Mashiro with all of her force. The two of them tumbled away, leaving Yoruichi feeling confused and relieved. Relief that was quickly supplanted by another wave of blinding pain, as a new outburst of sludge made her blind.

Shinji Hirako had been afraid before, and more times than others might think when they'd gotten to know him. But he had never known fear as profound as the fear he felt now, looking over the faces of his fallen friends. All of them had either been consumed, or were in the process of losing themselves to their Hollow. Only he and Lisa still seemed to be fighting it off, but even they were still sporting half-masks and discolored eyes.

"Shinji," Lisa called over to him, "stay focused. If you're afraid, they'll tear you apart. That's how Hollow work, remember?"

"Who's the Captain here?" he shot back, before resettling his stance. "Thanks," he added. "I needed that."

"_Give up, you little shit,"_ a voice snarled in Shinji's head, an eerie echo of his own. _"Stop fighting me!"_

Once Shinji had recovered from the surprise of hearing a voice in his head that wasn't his zanpakuto's, he got an idea. As Hiyori charged at them, he spoke hurriedly to Lisa.

"Hold her off," he said, "an' try not to kill her. I got an idea."

Shinji sat down on the forest floor, quickly getting into a _jinzen_ position.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lisa yelled at him.

"Less talkin', more fightin'!" Shinji shot back, before pulling himself down into his spirit world.

Just as he'd suspected, there was a doppelganger of himself standing there that looked just like a Hollow.

"We're done doin' this on your terms, asshole," Shinji snarled. "This is my body."

"_Oh yeah?"_ the Hollow asked, smiling mockingly. _"Prove it."_

Shinji used _shunpo_ to dash right up next to the Hollow, grabbed it by the hair, and slammed its face directly into the sharp, hard point of his knee. And again. And again. He didn't have time to screw around; he had to subdue this thing before it had a chance to draw a zanpakuto and get serious.

"Had enough yet?" Shinji asked, lifting the Hollow just high enough to punch it square in the face. "I can do this for a few more hours, or ya can give up. You're nowhere near my league, bastard."

Shinji let the Hollow drop down to the ground, drew Sakanade, and slammed the point of his zanpakuto right through the Hollow's heart. His spirit world went white in an explosion of energy, and Shinji smiled in triumph.

Shifting his awareness back to the real world, Shinji frowned as he saw Lisa going toe-to-toe with Hiyori and Byakuya. To her credit, she was holding her own well. Whatever else being turned half-Hollow did to her, it definitely made her a lot stronger in the process.

Unfortunately, the same went for Hiyori and Byakuya.

"Lisa," Shinji called over to her as he got to his feet, "Get inta your spirit world and beat your Hollow there, or it'll take over out here an' we'll be done for. Hurry up; I'll buy you time!"

Shinji stepped forward and engaged Byakuya, striking with a strong, two-handed overhead blow that sent him skidding backwards. Turning to Hiyori, Shinji was moving his zanpakuto to block an incoming strike when Hiyori's fist just stopped, trembling in mid-strike.

"_Shinji,"_ she said slowly, her voice trembling. _"I'm trying to fight her. But she's strong. Too strong."_

Byakuya was getting his second wind, and Shinji knew he had to make these next few words count.

"She ain't as strong as you, Hiyori," Shinji said forcefully, hoping to push his friend over the edge and to victory. "Focus, go into your spirit world, and kick her ass. Then come bail me out, before the rest of these whackjobs tear me apart." He turned away, moving to block a strong punch from Byakuya. "Now hurry up, you shrimp!"

There was no way Shinji could split his attention against Byakuya, so he had to hope for the best with Hiyori. Taking a deep breath, he reached inside of himself and tried to dredge the Hollow back up—this time, under his control. He smiled in satisfaction as he felt a mask forming over his face, and Shinji could feel his strength and endurance increase by an order of magnitude.

Striking out against Byakuya, he managed to force his way past the other Captain's defenses and carve a long gash down Byakuya's chest. As Byakuya staggered back and stared murderously at Shinji, waiting for the wound to heal itself, Shinji frowned at his colleague.

"What d'ya think you're doing in there, Kuchiki?" he said. "If you let that Hollow beat you, it's gonna go after Hisana and Rukia next. D'you really want that? Do ya?!"

Byakuya's whole body shook, seemingly at war with itself.

"Yeah," Shinji said as the Hollow in front of him reared its head back and roared, pulsing with bright energy, "I didn't think so."

Shinji flashed away before the shockwave could hit him, and when he flashed back he was inwardly ecstatic to see that Lisa, Hiyori and Byakuya had all managed to bring themselves back to sanity. It was that much closer to a fair fight.

"So," Hiyori said, leveling her _shikai_ in front of her, "how you wanna do this, Shinji?"

"I'll take Kensei," he answered. "Lisa, Kaien's all yours. Hiyori, you can take Mashiro. Byakuya, I assume you want a piece of Yoruichi, yeah?"

Byakuya offered the faintest shadow of a smile in response.

"Okay then," Shinji said, smiling. "Let's go."

The four of them blitzed forward in a burst of _shunpo_, each Shinigami engaging with their chosen target. Soi Fon was left with no one to fight, immobilized by her own inner-struggle.

"_You're weak,"_ her Hollow mocked, its voice needling away at Soi Fon. _"You'll never live anywhere but in her shadow. And she'll never respect you!"_

"Shut up!" Soi Fon hissed, concentrating every ounce of willpower she had on fighting her Hollow. "Shut up! She does respect me. That's why she trusted me to be her Lieutenant!"

"_Pity promotion,"_ the Hollow scoffed, but the words actually brought an edged smile to Soi Fon's face instead of further demoralizing her.

"There's no such thing as pity in the _Onmitsukido_."

She reached as deep as she possibly could, drawing on the last reserves of her strength. If she lost this last push, it would all be over. But it was something she had to do, for the sake of her pride as a member of the _Onmitsukido_—and for the sake of the trust Yoruichi-sama had placed upon her shoulders.

Soi Fon let the surge of _reiatsu_ loose, pushing against the power of the Hollow with everything she had. She grinned in satisfaction as she felt the Hollow's presence fading, her own will in complete control even as the mask remained on her face, strengthening her.

She rushed towards where Byakuya and Yoruichi were dueling, determined to free her Captain from misery.

Deeper into the forest, out of sight of the Shinigami combatants, a pair of Arrancar stood watching the fight. One of them, with piercing blue eyes and equally remarkably-colored hair, turned to his companion—a toweringly tall Arrancar wearing an eye-patch.

"You want in on this one, Nnoitra?"

Nnoitra scoffed.

"It ain't one-on-one," he said, "I want nothing to do with it. You want a piece of 'em, Grimmjow, knock yourself out for all I care."

Nnoitra walked off, but Grimmjow hung around to watch the end of the conflict. Depending on how it played out, he thought he might have finally found a solution to Hueco Mundo's oldest problem.

Back over on the battleground, Shinji was trading a vicious series of blows with Kensei. Each strike from his fists rattled Shinji's zanpakuto to the core, but Shinji didn't dare use his _shikai_ or _bankai_. He couldn't afford to spend any attention on worrying about who was being caught in Sakanade's snare, not now.

As Kensei was rearing back for a double-fisted overhead slam, Shinji stood his ground. All he had to do was wait for Kensei to commit to the strike, and then he could dodge and—

Suddenly the fists were racing towards him, going much faster than Shinji had expected.

Well, shit.

"Only I get to do that to Shinji, you asshole!"

Hiyori landed a perfect flying dropkick right to the side of Kensei's head, interrupting his attack and sending the Hollow staggering. Hiyori didn't even hesitate for a second, forcing her mask back into existence over her face and charging at Kensei. She hammered him again and again with a flurry of kicks and zanpakuto strikes, forcing the Hollow to give ground. As Kensei staggered back one more time, Hiyori raised her saw-toothed sword and looked up at her friend apologetically.

"_I hope this works."_

Hiyori stabbed her _shikai_ through Kensei's chest, leaving the blade lodged there.

"Hiyori!" Shinji shouted over, shocked. "The hell was that for?"

"Tryin' ta give Kensei a window," Hiyori explained, catching her breath. "Let's see if he takes it."

The sudden influx of pain sent the Hollow reeling, and a few moments later Kensei was clutching his head and screaming. Hiyori was quick to yank out her zanpakuto, giving the wound time to heal quickly before Kensei took control back from his Hollow. Sure enough, his mask shattered a few moments later, and another flash of energy signaled one less enemy to fight.

Yoruichi and Kaien were quickly subdued in turn, and a few minutes later the restored Shinigami all looked around at each other with a combination of sadness, confusion, exhaustion and remorse. After they'd all had a chance to catch their breath, Shinji broke the silence with laughter.

"What's so funny, Shinji?" Yoruichi asked, and the Captain flashed the squad leader a grin.

"I was just thinkin'," he said, "about how fucked we all are. You know we can't go back home, right? The old man would have us all killed." Shinji laughed again. "That is hilarious, you gotta admit."

"Not to me, it isn't," Kaien replied icily, before looking over at Yoruichi. "Orders, Captain?"

Yoruichi took a few moments to compose herself, still struggling to believe that she'd become the very thing she'd been hunting just an hour ago.

"The plan's the same," she said at last. "We find Ichigo."

"And take him back to Soul Society with us?" Kensei asked. "I don't think so."

"No," Yoruichi agreed, "we're not going to do that. We're going to pray Ichigo's willing to forgive, forget, and take us in. Because like it or not, until Kisuke or Shunsui can work something out with the Captain Commander, we're stuck here."

Silence settled over the group again, each Shinigami quietly resigning themselves to the reality of their situation and steeling themselves for what was to come.

"Well, this is awful and all," Hiyori said, "but right now, I just need to get some sleep an' recharge. Who wants to take watch?"

Yoruichi raised her hand.

"I will," she said, before Soi Fon shook her head.

"I can do it," she insisted. "You need your rest, Yoruichi-sama. Better a tired Lieutenant than a tired Captain, right?"

Yoruichi wanted to disagree, but Soi Fon's logic was sound.

"Thank you," she said, earning a rare smile from her Lieutenant.

"Just doing my duty, Captain."

As the rest of her companions stretched out, laid down or curled up on the ground, Soi Fon stood as the watchwoman. She was tired, sore all over and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but her duty was more important than her own personal discomfort.

Soi Fon could feel her Hollow lurking in the depths of her soul, and it was the oddest thing she'd ever felt. It wasn't trying to rebel or conquer anymore—it was just _there_—but it still felt indescribable to have something she'd been trained to so completely despise be a part of her now.

Reaching out in her soul and tapping into her Hollow, Soi Fon felt an instant response. It felt like a mask was resting on her forehead, just waiting to be put on. Reaching up, she pulled her hand down.

Strength suddenly filled her, the exhaustion gone. Power, pure power, beyond anything Soi Fon had ever felt as a Shinigami. It only lasted a handful of seconds before shattering away, but that would have been time enough in a battle for three separate killing blows.

She could get used to that feeling.

Suddenly, a nearby and foreign _reiatsu_ drew Soi Fon's attention back to the present. A stranger stood in front of her, eyeing her with interest.

He had hungry blue eyes and hair that was an obnoxious shade of the same color, an odd piece of something like bone on his face, a hole in his abdomen, and everything about him set Soi Fon on edge.

"Cool trick," the newcomer said, smirking. "Where'd you pick that up, Shinigami?"

Soi Fon instinctively reached for her zanpakuto, but the strange person held his hands up, palms outward.

"Easy," he said. "I'm not gonna fight ya, not when you're beat half to death and exhausted. That's no fun."

Soi Fon drew her zanpakuto anyway, and the newcomer sighed.

"Have it your way, shortie."

He disappeared with a _buzz_, and Soi Fon gasped in surprise. It wasn't _shunpo_, it couldn't be, but—

He reappeared, suddenly inches away from her, and knocked Suzumepachi from her hands with an almost casual backhand swipe.

"Now," he said lowly, gripping one of her hands with just enough force to immobilize it, "can we talk, or are you gonna make this way harder than it has to be?"

"What are you?" Soi Fon asked, as her hand was released and the stranger took a few steps back. The Shinigami's eyes finally saw the sword at his hip, radiating power like a zanpakuto.

"Looks like we're both the same thing, more or less," he answered. "Just coming from different sides of the coin. I'm an Arrancar."

"And do you have a name?" Soi Fon pressed, wondering if she could flash to her zanpakuto and back before the Arrancar could draw his own blade.

As if he could read her mind, the Arrancar disappeared with another _buzz_ and then reappeared, holding Suzumebachi.

"Don't touch that!" Soi Fon hissed, not wanting to disturb her sleeping friends. The Arrancar looked taken aback, smoothly shifting the blade in his grip and offering it back to the Shinigami, hilt first.

"Don't everybody thank me at once," he grumbled. "My name's Grimmjow," the Arrancar added. "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

Soi Fon arched an eyebrow as she re-sheathed Suzumebachi, still able to feel traces of Grimmjow's _reiatsu_ on its hilt. It was strong, way too strong for her to compete with one-on-one in her current shape.

"That's a ridiculous name," she said, drawing a smirk out of Grimmjow.

"Soi Fon is just as ridiculous, Shinigami," he said, surprising her.

"How'd you know my name?"

Grimmjow shrugged.

"Kinda hard to miss it, when your Captain's shouting it every five seconds."

"You… you saw our battle?"

"Yeah," Grimmjow said matter-of-factly, "of course I did. How the hell else would I know about it? Nnoitra and I were watching right over there," he said, pointing back towards the dark cover of the forest.

"Nnoitra? Who's he?"

"Someone you should hope you don't meet," Grimmjow answered, turning serious.

Soi Fon was about to ask why, before she stopped herself and considered her situation. Here she was, alone and in no shape to fight in the homeland of the Hollow, having a casual conversation with some weird creature whose like she'd never seen before.

Maybe this was all a dream, and she was about to wake up. That would be nice.

"Anyway," Grimmjow resumed bluntly, "I'm not here to talk about that asshole Nnoitra." He grinned, looking decidedly predatory. "I got a deal for you and your friends. Some help, in exchange for a favor from you when the time's right."

"What makes you think we need your help?"

"Oh, I don't know," Grimmjow said with a mocking shrug, "maybe the fact that I could murder half of you right now and get away without even trying. You're gonna need safe passage for a while, until you get back on your feet."

"We've been to Hueco Mundo before," Soi Fon replied, skeptical. "Even if I did trust you, I wouldn't want— or need—your help."

"Look who's confident," Grimmjow replied, smiling. "You ever been down to the bottom of the forest floor, huh? Dropping in is a hell of a lot easier than getting out… especially if you don't know where the Menos' nests are," he added, his eyes glinting.

"Buy hey," Grimmjow continued, turning around and walking away, "it's not my damn funeral. Good luck, Soi Fon."

"Wait, Grimmjow."

The Arrancar stopped at the new voice, turning back around. Yoruichi Shihoin was hauling herself to her feet, looking at Grimmjow intently.

"So, Isshin was telling the truth," she said, smiling faintly. "I'll be damned."

"You catch all that?" Grimmjow asked her. "I hate repeatin' myself."

Yoruichi nodded.

"I'm a light sleeper. Soi Fon, relax," she told her Lieutenant. "If he was going to attack us, you'd never have known he was here."

Soi Fon forced herself out of her attacking posture, but still stood ready to spring back into it at a moment's notice. Grimmjow chuckled.

"Now she does it."

"So," Yoruichi said, getting straight down to business, "if you get us through the forest safely, what will you want in return?"

"Something that'll benefit all of us," the Arrancar replied. "I want you to help me kill the King of Hueco Mundo."

Yoruichi arched an eyebrow, not expecting that at all.

"So you can take his place?"

Grimmjow shook his head.

"No. Because he's a massive asshole who thinks this whole world belongs to him. Every time one of us tries to kill him, he just won't die."

"And you think we could solve that problem, when everyone else who's tried has failed?"

Grimmjow nodded.

"Ten of us, and one of him? I'd say those're damn good odds."

Yoruichi was silent, carefully mulling over the Arrancar's words. She didn't trust him at all, but in their state even a suspicious ally was preferable to no ally at all. And it would only take a few hours for the Captains to recover, at which point Grimmjow's life would be in their hands instead.

"Okay," the Captain said at last, extending a hand. "Deal."

"Yoruichi-sama," Soi Fon protested, "you can't be serious!"

"We have no choice," her Captain told her frankly. "It's either this, or seriously risk dying. And I'm not a big fan of the second option."

Grimmjow shook Yoruichi's hand, smiling in satisfaction.

He would help them out, for now. And just to make sure he was holding a trump card in case one of the Shinigami got uppity, Grimmjow figured he'd steer their path towards the big, rotting tree that every Hollow steered well clear of.

The tree that housed one of the most powerful Arrancar in all of Hueco Mundo.

* * *

…

…

**A/N: **Oh boy, an update! My apologies for the very long delay on this one; life got busy, and then life got a little crazy, and then it got crazy busy. Hopefully the length of this chapter at least partly makes up for that, though.

Hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought!

-Jazz


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